Saudi Aramco reported a decline in its earnings for the first quarter of 2020, dragged by the oil price crash amid the coronavirus pandemic. Net profit after zakat and tax for the January-March period fell 25% from SAR83.29 billion a year earlier to SAR62.48 billion ($16.64 billion), lower than analyst estimates of a $17.8 billion profit.
The world’s top oil-producing company said it paid dividends of $13.4 billion during the quarter and promised to pay $18.75 billion dividends in the second quarter. Aramco’s operating cash flows fell to $22.4 billion in the first quarter from $24.5 billion in the same quarter last year.
The company is likely to restructure its $70 billion purchase of a 70% equity stake in SABIC due to the oil price slump, Reuters reported. Brent crude prices plunged 65% in the first quarter before OPEC+ agreed to slash oil supply by 9.7 million bpd starting from this month to support prices and ease oversupply.
