Saudi Aramco profits down 23%

Saudi Aramco posted a 23-percent year-on-year drop in profits for the third quarter, resulting from lower oil prices and production cuts, AFP reported.

The drop from $42.43 billion last year to $32.58 billion “principally reflects the impact of lower crude oil prices and volumes sold”, the firm said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

It follows a drop in net profit for Aramco, one of the world’s richest companies, of 19.25 percent in the first quarter and 38 percent in the second quarter compared to 2022.

Aramco reported what it described as record profits for last year totalling $161.1 billion, giving the kingdom its first annual budget surplus in nearly a decade.

Prices this year are estimated to be around $85 per barrel, Riyadh-based firm Jadwa Investment said in a report in late October.

Analysts say the kingdom needs oil to be priced at around $80 per barrel to balance its budget, though that could be thrown off by production cuts and ramped-up spending.