Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco on Tuesday reported a 44.6% drop in third-quarter net income due to lower oil prices and lower sales as the coronavirus crisis plunged demand.
The declining profitability of refining and chemical products also impacted the company's net profit, which fell to 44.21 billion riyals ($ 11.79 billion) for the quarter ended September 30 from 79.84 billion riyals last year.
Analysts had expected Aramco's third-quarter net profit to be Rial 44.6 billion.
“We saw the first signs of recovery in the third quarter as economic activity improved despite the headwind facing global energy markets,” Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement.
The company said it will distribute $ 18.75 billion in dividends for the third quarter of this year in line with its plan to pay out $ 75 billion in 2020 base dividends.
Oil company dividends play a crucial role in filling the budget of Saudi Arabia.
