Saudi Arabia's Aramco reports lower half-year profits as economic worries dampen energy prices

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi oil giant Aramco reported half-year profits Tuesday of $56.3 billion, down from the year before amid worries about a slowing global economy.

Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., said its overall revenue for the half-year was $220.7 billion, up from $218.6 billion the year before. Profits in 2023 were $61.9 billion, nearly $5 billion higher.

Despite the turmoil in the global economy, Aramco remains bullish on the future with a projected increase in demand from the aviation industry and from China.

“Growth in global oil demand is strong, reaching a record 103.2 million barrels a day in the first half of 2024, despite some headwinds,” Aramco CEO and President Amin H. Nasser told analysts on a conference call. “We expect further demand growth in the second half of the year.”

Aramco will pay dividends of $20.3 billion for the second quarter and a performance-linked dividend of $10.8 billion, the company 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 of the firm is held by Saudi Arabia's government, fueling its expenditure and providing wealth to its Al Saud royal family.

Saudi Arabia, a leader in the OPEC cartel, has allied with Russia and others outside of the group to try to keep production down to boost global oil prices. Benchmark Brent crude traded around $77 a barrel on Tuesday after Japan's Nikkei stock market plunged 12.4% Monday in its worst single-day decline since 1987.

It marked the latest in a global sell-off that began the previous week. A report Friday showed U.S. employers slowed their hiring in July by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the United States economy to come in weaker than expected. It’s all raised fear the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation.

The Nikkei bounced back Tuesday morning, nearly recouping those losses.

Crude oil prices collapsed in the pandemic but rose again in 2022 on the back of Russia’s war on Ukraine, going as high as nearly $140. That sparked tension between the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia, but prices have since come down to a six-month low over concerns over the wider global economy. That's made the price at the pump less of an issue ahead of the November election between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Aramco produced over 12 million barrels of oil a day throughout the year, but maintains the ability to bring an additional 3 million barrels a day onto the market if needed, said Ziad al-Murshed, Aramco's chief financial officer. It sold oil at around $85.70 a barrel in the second quarter, up from $83 in the first quarter.

“Given this consistent growth in oil demand, combined with global inventories that are at the lower end of their five-year range, Aramco is well positioned going forward,” al-Murshed said.

Aramco has a market value of $1.7 trillion, making it the world’s fifth-most valuable firm, behind Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Alphabet, which owns Google. Aramco stock meanwhile has fallen by nearly a fifth over the past year as oil prices dropped.

Aramco reported making a $121 billion 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.