Saudi state oil company Aramco (TADAWUL):2222) recorded a record net profit of $2022.161 billion in 100, up 46.5 percent from the previous year, which is “its biggest annual profit” as a publicly traded company, the company announced Sunday.
Those results, which have made it the most profitable oil company in the world, have been attributed to the rise in prices due to the war in Ukraine and the increased demand after the pandemic.
Already in 2021 it obtained a net profit of 110,000 million, which meant doubling its profit compared to 2020, which was 49,000 million.
RECORD PERFORMANCE
Aramco attributed the increase in its net income to “stronger crude prices, higher volumes sold and better margins for refined products,” and assured that it “will continue to strengthen its production capacity of petroleum and gas, as well as its portfolio of downstream to meet demand,” according to a company statement.
Chief Executive Amin Nasser said in the note that this “record financial performance” in 2022 took place because “oil prices strengthened due to increased demand around the world.”
“We also continue to focus on our long-term strategy, developing capacity and skill along the value chain with the aim of addressing energy security and sustainability,” he added.
According to the statement, the Saudi oil company’s capital expenditure in 2022 was $37.600 billion, an 18% increase from 2021, a figure Aramco expects to raise to approximately $45 billion and $000 billion in 55, “including foreign investments, with capital spending increasing through the middle of the decade. indicated to the company.
The company also noted that its free cash flow reached a record $148.500 billion in 2022, compared to $107.500 billion in 2021.
On the other hand, the oil company declared a dividend of 19,500 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, which will be distributed in the first quarter of 2023.
“This represents an increase of 4% compared to the previous quarter, aligned with the company’s dividend policy, which aims to deliver a sustainable and progressive dividend,” the oil company added.
The note highlights that in February 2022 it closed, among other investments, an “energy infrastructure agreement” that resulted in a consortium of investors acquiring a 49% stake in a newly formed subsidiary, Aramco Gas Pipelines Company (AGPC), for 15,500 million dollars.
The Saudi giant also announced on Thursday the start of construction of a new petrochemical plant in South Korea, with investments valued at 7,000 million dollars and with a capacity to produce 3.2 million tons per year, and which is expected to be operational in 2026.
MORE OIL AND GAS
Nasser said that in line with that strategy of his company, the largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Arab kingdom, it will continue to increase its investments in oil and gas, as well as in the petrochemical industry.
“Given that we anticipate that oil and gas will remain essential for the foreseeable future, the risks of underinvestment in our industry are real, including contributing to higher energy prices.”
The record profits of the Saudi giant were described as “scandalous” by Amnesty International (AI), which considered that “it is high time for Saudi Arabia to act in the interest of humanity and support the progressive elimination of the fossil fuel industry, which is essential to avoid further climate damage.”
“It is scandalous that a company makes a profit of more than 161 billion US dollars in a single year from the sale of fossil fuels, the main driver of the climate crisis,” Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard said in a statement.
