Saudi Aramco’s profit surges 90%, reports record $48.4bn quarterly profit
On Sunday, Saudi oil company Aramco reported a staggering 90% increase in second-quarter net profits and record half-year earnings, as high oil prices continue to generate historic windfalls for “Big Oil.” Strong market circumstances aided Aramco’s second-quarter net profits of $48.4 billion, up from $25.5 billion the previous year. The outcome was greatly above experts’ expectations of $46.2 billion.
Aramco reported an $87.9 billion net income for the first half of the year, comfortably surpassing the top publicly traded oil majors, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP, as well as other “Big Oil” corporations, who are all profiting from a commodities price boom.
Oil prices soared above $130 per barrel earlier this year as the global energy crisis, exacerbated by supply interruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, roiled global markets and contributed to decades of high inflation.
Despite “downward economic pressures on short-term global estimates,” Aramco expects the post-pandemic rebound in oil demand to last the remainder of the decade. The spectacular results are also a significant windfall for the Saudi government, which mainly depends on the Aramco payout to support government spending. In the second quarter, the Kingdom announced a $21 billion budget surplus. Aramco said it will retain its $18.8 billion dividend distribution in the third quarter, which would be financed by a 53% rise in free cash flow to $34.6 billion.
“Our record second-quarter results reflect increasing demand for our products — particularly as a low-cost producer with one of the lowest upstream carbon intensities in the industry,” Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser said. “While global market volatility and economic uncertainty remain, events during the first half of this year support our view that ongoing investment in our industry is essential — both to help ensure markets remain well supplied and to facilitate an orderly energy transition,” he added.
