01 Feb 2021; MEMO: The net profits of Saudi Arabia's Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) fell by 99.2 per cent last year compared with 2019, the company's data on the local stock exchange website has revealed.
SABIC is the largest petrochemical company in the Middle East. It said on Sunday that its net profits have fallen from SAR 5.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in 2019 to SAR 40 million ($10.7 million) last year. Total sales revenues fell by 13.61 per cent during 2020, to SAR 116.9 billion ($31.17 billion), down from SAR 135.4 billion ($36.1 billion) on a year by year basis.
The company attributed the sharp decline in profits to the fall in the average selling prices of most products, as well as the fall in the value of some assets. The coronavirus pandemic has affected the prices of many goods and services, including oil.
SABIC's CEO Yousef Al-Benyan said that the fourth quarter of 2020, however, benefited from sustained economic recovery.
