Continued progress on strategy and commitment to dividend enabled by resilience and financial prudence
•Net income: $6.6 billion (Q2) / $23.2 billion (H1)
•Cash flow from operating activities: $12.3 billion (Q2) / $34.8 billion (H1)•Free cash flow*: $6.1 billion (Q2) / $21.1 billion (H1)
•Q1 dividend of $18.75billion paid in the second quarter; Q2 dividends of $18.75billion to be paid in the third quarter
•Completion of SABIC transaction is a milestone for Downstream growth strategy
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, August 9, 2020 –The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco” or “the Company”) today announced its results for the second quarter and first half of 2020, highlighting the Company’s financial and operational resilience, and commitment to shareholders despite challenging market conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commenting on the results, Aramco President & CEO Amin H. Nasser, said: “Despite COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, Aramco kept going. We have proven our financial resilience and operational reliability, setting a record in our business operations, while at the same time taking steps to ensurethe health and safety of our people.
“Strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices are reflected in our second quarter results. Yet we delivered solid earnings because of our low production costs, unique scale, agile workforce, and unrivalled financial and operational strength. This helped us deliver on our plan to maintain a second quarter dividend of $18.75billion to be paid in the third quarter.
“We will continue to pursue our long-term growth and diversification strategy to capture unrealized and additional value from every hydrocarbon molecule we produce –driving global commerce and enhancing people’s lives. The completion of our historic acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC is yet more evidence of that forward momentum and a testament to our healthy financial position.
“We are seeing a partial recovery in the energy market as countries around the world take steps to ease restrictions and reboot their economies. Meanwhile, we continue to place people’s safety first and have adapted to the new normal, implementing wide-ranging precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 wherever we operate
“We are determined to emerge from the pandemic stronger and will continue making progress on our long-term strategic journey, through ongoing investments in our business –which has one of the lowest upstream carbon footprints in the world.”
Financial Highlights
Despite continued global economic disruption and challenges facing the energy sector, Aramco continued to deliver on its commitment to shareholders by declaring a dividend of $18.75billion for the second quarter, compared to $13.4 billion for the second quarter of 2019. Aramco navigated challenging market conditions to record net income of $6.6 billion for the second quarter and $23.2 billion for the first half of 2020, respectively, compared to $24.7 billion and $46.9 billion in the corresponding periods of 2019.This demonstrates Aramco’s agility, strength and resilience across market cycles.
