Saudi Aramco reported its highest annual earnings since its initial public offering in 2019, as the world’s largest oil exporter raked in cash from resurgent energy demand.
Net income more than doubles in 2021 to $110 billion, the company said on Sunday, and it maintains a full-year cash dividend – one of the largest in the world – at $75 billion la. Analysts had forecast net income of $109.7 billion, according to the average compiled by the company.
The state-backed group, which reported earnings of $49 billion a year earlier, said the 124% increase was due to “higher crude oil prices, stronger refining and chemical refining margins and the consolidation of SABIC’s full year results”. Company buy 70% shares at Sabic, a Saudi petrochemical company, in 2020.
Dividends including $18.8 billion for the fourth quarter will be paid before the end of March. The payment is an important source of revenue for the Saudi government, which owns 98% of the shares of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco after a small share of the company is listed in December 2019.
The company also said it will distribute $4 billion in bonus shares to existing shareholders.
G Driving, defined by the company as a measure of how debt-funded its operations are, fell from 23% in December 2020 to 14.2%, as the company deployed a portion of its free cash flow. worth $107.5 billion. This compares to minus 4.9% in the first quarter of 2020 before the price plunge due to the coronavirus pandemic forced the company to borrow money to maintain its dividend last year.
Saudi Aramco and international rivals, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP, have benefited from the global economic recovery and supply constraints, which have pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time in years. more than seven years.
Prices have edged higher due to concerns that a Russian oil boycott following the Ukraine invasion could remove up to 2.5 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products per day from the market and Saudi reluctance. Saudi Arabia and their allies in the Opec + group to boost production to offset.
The cartel was trapped in a agreement reached last year to increase production by no more than 400,000 bpd per month, even if some members have failed to meet their quotas. The US and other major consumers have repeatedly urged countries with significant spare capacity, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to pump more.
Saudi Aramco said 2021 average crude oil production is 9.2 million bpd, as it gradually replaces the production cuts at the start of the pandemic. It is in the process of increasing its maximum production capacity from 12 million to 13 million bpd.
The company added that it is investing in carbon capture and storage, renewable energy and low-carbon hydrogen production after committing in October to achieve net zero emissions as it operates, called is scope 1 and scope 2, from its full assets in 2050.
The decision was announced following the Saudi government’s move to cut carbon emissions by 2060.
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