Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco, speaks during the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference on January 27 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fayez Nureldine / AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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Fayez Nureldine / AFP via Getty Images
Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco, speaks during the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference on January 27 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fayez Nureldine / AFP via Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s state-backed oil giant Aramco posted a 44% decline in profits last year as coronavirus pandemic restrictions lowered fuel demand around the world.
Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, posted profits of $ 49 billion in 2020, up from $ 88.2 billion a year earlier. Chairman Amin Nasser described last year as “one of the most challenging years in history”.
Despite the decline, Aramco announced it would distribute annual dividends of $ 75 billion to shareholders. The company began publicly selling shares in December 2019, but the Saudi government owns more than 98% of them. the Associated Press reports.
Like its competitors, Aramco has faced historic headwinds in the oil markets caused by the coronavirus. Countries have limited travel and work opportunities to face this Coronavirus pandemicwhich is causing oil prices to skyrocket. At one point in the last year, oil prices fell below zero for the first time in history. US energy company Exxon Mobil Corp. recorded it’s the worst year in 2020 reported CNN Business.
Aramco’s earnings report comes after attacks on its facilities, including a drone attack on Friday claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen. The company said The attacks did not affect the business, even though major attacks in 2019 affected production and rocked the oil markets.
Aramco’s 2020 numbers were slightly below analyst expectations, but still represent one of the highest earnings of any company CNBC.
However, Aramco’s CEO said he saw encouraging signs for the future.
“We are seeing a pickup in demand in Asia and positive signs in other countries as well.”
Said Nasser in a statement. “We remain confident that we will emerge in a position of strength on the other side of this pandemic.”
