Saudi Aramco’s profit fell 73 percent as demand for oil shrank.

Saudi Aramco’s profit fell 73 percent as demand for oil shrank.

A Saudi Aramco offshore oil platform in 2018. The giant oil company will continue paying a large dividend despite sharply lower profits.Credit...Mohamed Alebn Alshaikh/Saudi Aramco, via Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Stanley ReedSaudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, said on Sunday that its quarterly earnings plunged more than 73 percent compared to a year ago, as lockdowns imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic drastically cut the demand for oil and slammed prices. Despite the steep fall in earnings, to $6.6 billion from $24.7 billion, the company said it would continue paying a quarterly dividend of $18.75 billion, almost three times its cash flow. Aramco is locked into paying such a large amount — $75 billion a year — because of commitments made in the run-up to its initial public