Saudi Aramco posts revenue drop

August 5, 2025 (MLN): Saudi Aramco  posted a drop in second-quarter revenues, citing lower crude oil and refined chemical products prices that were only partially offset by higher traded volumes, on Tuesday.

The world’s largest oil company declared an adjusted net income of 92.04 billion Saudi riyal ($24.5bn) over the three months to the end of June, according to CNBC.

The result compares with a forecast of adjusted net income of $23.7bn, estimated by the company.

Second-quarter revenues dropped to 378.83bn Saudi riyals from 425.71bn Saudi riyal in the same period of the previous year.

“Market fundamentals remain strong and we anticipate oil demand in the second half of 2025 to be more than two million barrels per day higher than the first half,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said in a Tuesday statement accompanying the results.

Capital expenditure picked up slightly to 46.2 billion Saudi riyal in the June quarter, up from 45.5 billion Saudi riyal in the same period a year prior.

“An in-line set of results this morning from Aramco, with sequentially weaker upstream earnings offset by a recovery in refining results,” RBC analysts said in a note following the results.

“With $25.5bn of capital investments in the first half of 2025, Aramco appears to be running lower than its guidance of $52-58bn for the full year. While spending typically picks up in the second half of the year, we think full year capex could come in towards the lower end of its guided range, subject to acquisitions.”

Crude prices have stayed depressed over the course of the year, barring a brief second-quarter flare-up sparked by Israel-Iran tensions, as reported by CNBC.

Futures have been under pressure from an uncertain outlook for demand, exacerbated since April by the rollout of Washington’s wide-spanning tariffs. The protectionist trade measures muddy the picture for growth in the world’s largest economy and the future of the U.S. dollar, which denominates most commodities including crude oil.

Aramco’s income is set to see a boost from higher output, after Saudi Arabia – and seven other OPEC and non-OPEC partners complete unwinding 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts through a last tranche in September.

Saudi Arabia most recently produced 9.356 million barrels per day in June, according to independent analyst estimates compiled in OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report.

Aramco has increasingly tapped debt markets, with two issuances totaling $9bn in the second half of 2024 and a three-part bond sale of $5bn this year. The company’s gearing ratio went up to 6.5% as of June 30, 2025, compared to 5.3% as at March 31, 2025.

Front of mind for investors is the dividend policy at Aramco, which in March slashed investor returns for 2025 to $85.4bn down sharply from the $124.2bn of 2024 after a first-quarter decline in net profits, as reported by CNBC.

Aramco declared a base dividend of $21.1bn and a performance-linked dividend of $0.2bn in the third quarter.

The company’s dividend yield stood at 5.5% as of Monday, still ahead of U.S. industry peer Exxon Mobil’s 3.6% and Chevron’s 4.5%, according to FactSet data.

Aramco’s payouts ripple sharply into the budget of Saudi Arabia, which has been juggling diversifying its economy away from oil reliance under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s signature Vision 2030 program.

Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product expanded by 3.9% in the second quarter, boosted by non-oil activities.

Copyright Mettis Link News