Saudi Aramco’s earnings soared as oil prices and production climbed, allowing the company to easily cover its quarterly dividend of $18.75 billion with free cash flow.
The world’s biggest crude producer’s third-quarter profit climbed to 114.1 billion riyals ($30.4 billion) from 44.2 billion riyals year ago. Free cash flow was $28.7 billion.
Aramco and its Big Oil rivals have benefited from the global economic recovery, which has helped push up crude prices by about 65% this year to more than $80 a barrel.
The state-controlled firm was also helped by higher output after Saudi Arabia ended unilateral supply cuts implemented as part of an OPEC+ deal earlier this year. The kingdom’s crude production averaged 9.6 million barrels a day between July and September, up from 8.5 million in the second quarter.
Aramco’s annual dividend of $75 billion, the world’s largest, is a crucial source of funding for Saudi Arabia. The government, which owns 98% of the stock, is trying to narrow a budget deficit that ballooned last year as energy prices tanked with the spread of the coronavirus.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Technology Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed)
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