Saudi Aramco reports $25.5bn net profit in Q2 2021

Saudi Aramco reports $25.5bn net profit in Q2 2021

Saudi Aramco followed its big oil competitors with bumper earnings, boosted by a recovery in oil and chemical prices. The world’s biggest energy company made of SAR95.5bn ($25.5bn) in the second quarter, the highest level since the end of 2018. Free cash flow rose to $22.6bn, above the state-controlled firm’s quarterly dividend of $18.8bn for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The reopening of major economies has triggered a surge in commodity prices, with crude up around 40 per cent this year. In the past two weeks, oil companies such as BP, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell have said they will increase share buybacks and payouts, confident the worst of the pandemic is over. Aramco’s annual dividend of $75bn, the world’s largest, is a crucial source of funding for Saudi Arabia. The government, which owns 98 per cent of the company, is trying to narrow a budget deficit that ballooned last year as energy prices tanked with the spread of the virus. The results “reflect a strong rebound in worldwide energy demand and we are heading into the second half of 2021 more resilient and more flexible, as the global recovery gains momentum,” chief executive