The CEO of Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser, announced today, Monday, that the supplies provided by the company to its customers remain sufficient, despite the voluntary cuts recently made by the Kingdom. Nasser added that despite economic challenges, the company sees positive indicators for continued global demand strength, and that demand from China will continue to grow. Regarding matters related to the Dorra field, Nasser confirmed that they will proceed as planned with Kuwait.
**Aramco's Net Income Declines**
Aramco announced on Monday a drop in its net income for the second quarter of the year by about 38%, reflecting a decrease in oil prices and refining and chemicals profit margins. The company disclosed in a stock market filing that its net income fell to 112.81 billion riyals (30.07 billion dollars) in the quarter ending June 30, down from 181.64 billion dollars a year earlier, but it exceeded the average estimates provided by the company based on the opinions of 15 analysts of 29.8 billion dollars.
The company announced core dividends of just over 19.51 billion dollars for the second quarter, which is almost in line with its distributions for the first quarter. It stated that it intends to distribute performance-related dividends for a six-quarter period starting from the third quarter of 2023, with the first distribution being approximately 9.87 billion dollars.
Current oil futures have reached their highest levels since mid-April after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to keep supplies low for another month to reduce global market supply. Brent crude prices reached around 86 dollars per barrel today, Monday.
Aramco's shares have risen about 10.7 percent since the beginning of the year to 32.3 riyals, although they saw little change on Monday.
