Riyadh – Mubasher: The net profits after Zakat and tax of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) declined by 19.25% to SAR 119.54 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, versus SAR 148.03 billion in Q1-22.

Revenues hit SAR 417.46 billion during January-March 2023, down 10.61% from SAR 467 billion in the year-ago period, according to the interim financial results.

The earnings per share (EPS) retreated to SAR 0.49 in Q1-23 from SAR 0.59 in Q1-22.

On a quarterly basis, the Q1-23 net profits after Zakat and tax grew by 3.75% from SAR 115.22 billion in Q4-22, while the revenues went down by 3.85% from SAR 434.17 billion.

Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Aramco, stated: “Our growth strategy remains on track and we made significant progress on the strategic expansion of our Downstream business during the quarter, announcing a key acquisition in the US as well as important investments and partnerships in China and South Korea.”

“We are also moving forward with our capacity expansion, and our long-term outlook remains unchanged as we believe oil and gas will remain critical components of the global energy mix for the foreseeable future,” Nasser added.

Dividends

In a separate bourse disclosure, the oil giant announced cash dividends amounting to SAR 73.16 billion, equivalent to $19.51 billion, for Q1-23.

A dividend of SAR 0.30 per share will be granted to 241.93 billion eligible shares.

Eligibility and distribution dates for the Q1-23 dividends will be 16 and 31 May 2023, respectively.

The CEO highlighted: “Reinforcing our commitment to maximize long-term shareholder value, we are also announcing our intention to introduce a mechanism for performance-linked dividends, in addition to the base dividend the company currently distributes.”

Capital Hike

The company’s shareholders passed the board’s proposal to increase the capital to SAR 90 billion from SAR 75 billion through the issuance of one bonus share for every ten owned shares.

Following the 20% capital hike, the number of shares will stand at 242 billion, instead of 220 billion shares prior to the raise.

In the January-December 2022 period, Aramco posted an annual surge of 46.46% in net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR 604.01 billion, compared to SAR 412.4 billion.