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Saudi Arabia’s state energy giant Aramco’s Q3 2024 net profit plummeted over 15% year-on-year (YoY) to $27.6 billion, weighed by the impact of lower crude oil prices and weakening refining margins.
Analysts had pencilled in $26.64 billion in the quarter, according to LSEG data.
On a quarterly basis, Q3 net profit fell 5%.
Total revenue for Q3 was $111.1 billion, down 2% YoY. The drop was mainly due to lower prices of crude oil and refined and chemical products, partially offset by higher volumes sold during the period.
Capital expenditure rose to $13.2 billion YoY from $11 billion, bringing year-to-date capex to $36.2 billion.
Free cash flow for the quarter was $22 billion versus $20.34 billion for the year-ago quarter, due mainly to higher operating cash flows.
Aramco paid a base dividend of $20.3 billion and has declared a performance-linked dividend of $10.8 billion for distribution in Q4.
Citi analyst Alastair Syme said Aramco has seen some recovery versus peers in recent months, but the outlook for oil markets still suggests a challenging environment to add barrels and regain market share.
“In our view, the equity story remains dependent on a belief in higher growth or a re-basing higher of the ‘fixed’ dividend going forward.”
Citi has 12-month price target for Aramco at 29.5 riyals ($7.86). Aramco shares fell after the results were announced. It is trading down down slightly at SAR 27.45, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Bindu Rai)
