Saudi Aramco first-quarter revenues fall

May 12, 2020

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco today announced a decrease in revenue while still turning a large profit in the first quarter of 2020.

Aramco had a net income of $16.7 billion in the first three months of 2020 and paid dividends of $18.75 billion to its shareholders. Aramco is mostly owned by the Saudi state, but 7% is listed on the Saudi stock exchange. The earnings were down 25% from the same period last year, The Associated Press reported.

Saudi Arabia flooded the global market with oil in March amid a price war with Russia, causing the cost of oil to plummet. The price war came on top of a drop in world demand for oil as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Aramco must pay dividends to the Saudi government and its private shareholders and planned to pay out $75 billion in 2020. The $18.75 billion it paid for the first quarter thus puts it theoretically on track for the yearly target, Reuters reported.

The company’s CEO and president, Amin Nasser, touted its ability to stay afloat during the crisis, saying the first quarter figures show “financial and operational strength,” according to The Associated Press.