Saudi Aramco says 1Q profits jump 82 per cent as oil prices surge
RIYADH: Saudi Aramco posted an 82-per cent jump in first quarter (1Q) profits, buoyed by a global surge in oil prices that has made it the world’s most valuable company.
The announcement continued a string of recent positive economic news for Saudi Arabia, where a booming oil sector is fuelling the fastest growth rate in a decade.
Aramco’s net income of US$39.5 billion was up from US$21.7 billion compared with the same period in 2021, “primarily driven by higher crude oil prices and volumes sold, and improved downstream margins,” it said in a press release.
The finance ministry announced quarterly revenue growth of 36 per cent compared with the same period in 2021, yielding a surplus equivalent to more than US$15 billion, state media reported.
Aramco is Saudi Arabia’s “crown jewel” and primary source of revenue.
The latest financial results were published four days after Aramco dethroned Apple as the world’s most valuable company, with shares worth US$2.42 trillion compared to Apple’s US$2.37 trillion.
Last year, ahead of the COP26 climate-change summit, Saudi Arabia pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, sparking scepticism from environmental campaign group Greenpeace.
With increasing global urgency to limit global warming, experts warn of the urgent need to reduce fossil fuel use.
In March, Aramco reported a 124 per cent net annual profit increase for 2021. The firm has faced security challenges from the war which involves a Saudiled military coalition against Yemen’s Huthi rebels who have repeatedly targeted the kingdom, including Aramco sites.
A two-month truce in the war has generally been holding since it started in April, but in 2019 Huthi-claimed aerial assaults on two Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia temporarily knocked out half of the kingdom’s crude production. A March attack by the Huthis on facilities of the largely stateowned firm caused a “temporary” drop in production.
The net income for the 1Q was a record for Aramco since its initial public offering in 2019.