TLTP
\nRIYADH
\nThe world\u2019s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, has reported massive losses for the second quarter, with its net profit nosediving 73.4 percent, as the COVID-19 outbreak crippled global demand for crude.
\nThe oil giant\u2019s net profit plunged to 24.6 billion riyals ($6.6 billion) for the three months to June 30, from 92.6 billion riyals ($24.7 billion) in the same period of 2019, according to a regulatory filing published at the Tadawul exchange where its stock trades. For the whole first half of the year, Saudi Aramco said its net income plunged to 87.1 billion riyals ($23.2 billion) down 50 percent from 175.9 billion riyals ($46.9 billion) one a year ago.
\n\u201cStrong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices are reflected in our second quarter results,\u201d CEO Amin Nasser said, adding that the company is trying to adapt to the unprecedented conditions created by the pandemic. \u201cWe are seeing a partial recovery in the energy market as countries around the world take steps to ease restrictions and reboot their economies.\u201d
\nThe financial results, which were even worse than analysts predicted, however, did not sink the company\u2019s stock. After the company presented the report on Sunday, its shares were up slightly by 0.15 percent. Notably, the company\u2019s shares fell much less this year than those of its overseas peers. While Saudi Aramco stock slipped around six percent, those of Exxon Mobil were down 38 percent, while Shell declined by half.
\nMost energy companies have taken a painful blow from the coronavirus pandemic as lockdowns to contain the spread of the deadly virus limited travel and halted production, crushing demand for crude and sending oil prices into a tailspin. In April, US crude futures entered into negative territory for the first time in history.
\nWhile crude prices have already bounced from April lows thanks to output cuts agreed on by OPEC+ producers, they are still down around 30 percent from a year earlier.
\nSaudi Aramco went public last year, with its IPO becoming the largest in history. The oil giant has long held the position of world\u2019s most valuable company \u2013 until last week, when it was dethroned by US tech giant Apple. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP RIYADH The world\u2019s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, has reported massive losses for the second quarter, with its net profit nosediving 73.4 percent, as the COVID-19 outbreak crippled global demand for crude. The oil giant\u2019s net profit plunged to 24.6 billion riyals ($6.6 billion) for the three months to June 30, from 92.6 billion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-137784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n