The Saudi state-owned oil company, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) posted a net profit of 122.6 billion riyals ($32.69 billion) in the second quarter, up 44 per cent on the April–June period last year.
Adjusted profit jumped by 33% to $33.4 billion. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected a figure of $31.1 billion.
Revenue rose to $139.15 billion, compared with $108.57 billion in the second quarter of last year.
The average selling price of oil in the last quarter rose to $108.1 per barrel from $66.7 per barrel a year earlier. At the same time, Saudi Aramco’s total hydrocarbon production in the second quarter fell to 9.463 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared with 12.78 million barrels a year earlier, due todue to the conflict in the Middle East.
Capital expenditure in April–June totalled $13.17 billion, up from $12.31 billion in the same period last year. In the first half of the year, the figure rose to $25.27 billion from $24.86 billion.
Following the results of the second quarter, the company will allocate $21.9 billion to pay out its base dividends.