16 May 2022; MEMO: Saudi Aramco Company announced on Sunday, that it attained an increase of 82 per cent in its profits in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the same period last year, due to the high oil prices that made it the most expensive company in the world, with respect the market value.
The announcement is a continuation of the good news for the Saudi economy, which is achieving the fastest growth rate in a decade, due to the revenues of the oil sector.
The company said in a statement that it has achieved "a quarterly net income by 82 per cent, from 81.4 billion riyals ($21.7 billion) in the first quarter of 2021 to 148.0 billion riyals ($39.5 billion) in the first quarter of this year."
The company pointed out that "the growth was primarily driven by the increase in crude oil prices and its sales volumes, besides the improvement in the profit margins of the refining, processing and marketing businesses."
The announcement of Aramco's quarterly profits comes four days after the Saudi oil company overtook the giant American technology group, "Apple", as the world's most valuable company with regard to the market value, as its shares amounted to 2.42 trillion dollars, compared to 2.37 trillion dollars for Apple.
In March, Aramco announced it had recorded a 124 per cent increase in its annual net profits in 2021 compared to 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the global economies.
However, Aramco, the most prominent company in the Kingdom's economy, faces security challenges caused by the ongoing confrontation between the Saudi-led military coalition and the Houthi militants, who have constantly targeted the company's oil installations across the country.
The Company announced that it has recorded quarterly profits since it underwrote its shares in public in 2019. It also announced "$18.8 billion dividends" that it will pay during the second quarter of this year.
Aramco decided to distribute one bonus share for every 10 shares owned by the company.
Saudi Aramco President and CEO, Amin Nasser, said that the company "continues to focus on contributing to meeting the global demand for reliable energy, with continuing to raise the level of sustainability."
In early May, Saudi Arabia announced it had achieved its fastest economic growth rate in a decade due to the revenues of the oil sector, recording an increase of 9.6 per cent in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2021.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest oil producers and exporters, has rejected US pressures to increase production in order to cut down prices that have highly surged since the outset of the war in Ukraine.
In April, the International Monetary Fund said that Saudi Arabia's GDP is expected to grow by 7.6 per cent in 2022, due to the increase in crude oil prices because of the war in Ukraine.
In December 2019, Aramco was listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange after the world's largest initial public offering, which amounted to $29.4 billion after the sale of 1.7 per cent of its shares.
These efforts are led by the Public Investment Fund, PIF, which its total assets are amounted to $480 billion, and it is chaired by the Crown Prince. Last February, the PIF gained 4 per cent of Aramco's shares with a value estimated at $80 billion, to support its work to diversify the economy.
