DUBAI: Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s largest petrochemicals groups and the Gulf’s largest listed company, reported a 7 percent increase in second-quarter net income yesterday, matching analysts’ forecasts.
It earned SR6.46bn ($1.72bn) in the quarter, compared to SR6.04bn in the year-earlier period, SABIC said in a bourse statement.
This was in line with the average forecast of analysts polled, who had predicted a quarterly profit of SR6.42bn.
SABIC, which is 70 percent state-owned, attributed the rise in profits to higher production and sales volumes as well as higher prices for products. However, this was partly offset by a dip in sales volumes and an increase in feedstock costs for some products, the company said in a bourse filing.
The company’s results are closely tied to global economic growth because its products — plastics, fertilisers and metals — are used extensively in construction, agriculture, industry and the manufacturing of consumer goods.
There had been some concern in the stock market about SABIC’s earnings after two of its subsidiaries, Yanbu National Petrochemical Co and Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co , missed analysts’ second-quarter earnings forecasts earlier this month. SABIC’s first-quarter earnings dipped 1.8 percent year-on-year, as chief executive Mohamed Al Mady complained that a lack of ample natural gas supplies within Saudi Arabia had emerged as a key constraint on growth there. Reuters
