Saudi Aramco made less money in the first three months of this year compared to last year. Their net profit, which is the money they make after expenses, dropped by 14%. Last year, they made $31.9 billion during this time, but this year they made $27.3 billion.
This decrease was because oil prices were lower, and they produced less oil. But, this drop wasn’t a surprise to analysts, who were expecting it, according to Reuters.
Even though they made less money, Aramco still had a lot of cash left after paying its bills. They had $22.8 billion in free cash flow, which is the money they can use for investments or other things. This was down from $30.9 billion last year.
Their total cash flow from operating activities, which is the money they make from their main business, was $33.6 billion, compared to $39.6 billion last year.
Aramco is still going to pay out a big dividend to the Saudi government and other shareholders. They will give a total of $31 billion, which includes a base dividend of $20.3 billion and another dividend of $10.8 billion. This extra dividend will be paid in the second quarter of the year.
In 2024, Aramco plans to declare total dividends of $124.3 billion.
The company is also spending a lot of money on other things. They are investing heavily in operations that come after oil is extracted (downstream operations) and in finding and producing more natural gas.
Aramco’s President and CEO, Amin Nasser, said, “We also continue to execute our long-term strategy, and in the first quarter made significant progress on expanding our gas business and growing our globally-integrated downstream value chain while maintaining our focus on consistently delivering value for our shareholders.”
