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Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., had
revenues of $111.1 billion over the quarter, the company said in
a filing on Riyadh's Tadawul stock exchange. It had $113 billion
in revenues the same quarter last year.
Profits for the third quarter last year were $32.5 billion.
The profit decrease “was mainly due to the impact of lower crude
oil prices and weakening refining margins,” Aramco said.
Profit for the first nine months of 2024 was $83.9 billion, down
from $94.5 billion the year before.
Oil prices have been depressed over recent days as tensions in
the Middle East appear to have receded slightly and as China's
economy has slowed. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at
around $75 a barrel.
Aramco will pay dividends of $20.28 billion for the third
quarter and a performance-linked dividend of $10.77 billion, the
company said. It has said it hopes its overall dividend for the
year will be over $124 billion.
While a sliver of Aramco trades on the Tadawul, the vast
majority is held by Saudi Arabia’s government, fueling its
expenditures and providing wealth to its Al Saud royal family.
The company also serves as a bellwether for the global oil
industry.
Stock in Aramco traded around $7.31 a share Tuesday, down from a
high this year of over $9. It has fallen over the past year as
oil prices have dropped.
Aramco has a market value of $1.7 trillion, making it the
world’s sixth-most valuable company behind Apple, NVIDIA,
Microsoft, Alphabet which owns Google, and Amazon.
Aramco reported a $121 billion annual profit in 2023, down from
its 2022 record due to lower energy prices.
Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface
of its desert expanse, make it one of the world’s least
expensive places to produce crude. Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman hopes to use the oil wealth to pivot the kingdom off oil
sales, through projects such as his planned $500 billion
futuristic desert city, called Neom. But lower oil prices have
Saudi Arabia reportedly looking at curtailing some of those
ambitions as the kingdom likely faces looming budget deficits.
Meanwhile, activists criticized the profits amid global concerns
about the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change.
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