Saudi Aramco announced for the first time financial results on Monday, reporting a net income of US$46.9 billion for the first half of 2019, down by 12 percent from US$53 billion in H1 2018 on the back of lower oil prices.
Earlier this year, the world's largest oil company which pumps all the oil in the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, said that it would reveal first-half figures and hold its first-ever earnings call as part of its debut international bond and as the Kingdom continues to work on listing 5 percent in its oil giant company, amid multiple delays and various issues, including a US$2-trillion valuation that the Saudis are hoping for, the estimate of Saudi Arabia's oil reserves that has been shrouded in secrecy, and the international venue for the IPO.
Saudi Aramco lifted some of the veil today by announcing H1 results for the first time ever, marking "a significant milestone in Saudi Aramco's history," as Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer Amin Nasser said in the results release.
Aramco's revenues dropped in the first half of 2019 to US$146.8 billion from US$148.8 billion in the first half of last year, while operating costs grew to US$71.1 billion from US$66.5 billion.
Aramco paid dividends worth US$46.39 billion to its shareholder-the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in H1 2019, up from US$32 billion dividends paid in H1 2018. Related: China's Iranian Oil Weapon
"Despite lower oil prices during the first half of 2019, we continued to deliver solid earnings and strong free cash flow underpinned by our consistent operational performance, cost management and fiscal discipline," CEO Nasser said in the statement.
Despite a rise in free cash flow, Aramco was hit by the lower oil prices in the back end of the first half of the year, as were the major international oil companies, many of whom reported underwhelming Q2 profits impacted by low oil and natural gas prices, despite boosting oil and gas production.
Aramco's results release comes days after reports intensified (again) that Saudi Arabia could accelerate the timing of the much-hyped IPO to early next year.
By Tsvetana Parasova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More