Saudi-based petrochemicals giant SABIC hit a $2 billion quarterly profit in the second quarter of this year as a healthy global demand for its products drove sales, according to reports.
SABIC also said it expects this solid performance to continue in the second half of 2021, “backed by healthy demand and rising oil prices,” according to Reuters.
The company is now controlled by state oil producer Saudi Aramco, which acquired a 70% stake in June 2020. SABIC made a net income of 7.64 billion riyals ($2 billion), the highest quarterly figure in almost a decade and up around 60% from the first three months of the year. Revenue climbed 72% year-on-year to $11.3 billion.
“The reporting period coincided with the one-year anniversary of Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC, during which several workstreams have been introduced to capture synergies to drive more efficiency and add customer value,” SABIC said in a statement. “These workstreams, which have realized $230 million of value by the end of Q2 2021, include a recently announced realignment of sales and marketing activities,” it added.
SABIC’s increased profit is consistent with a steep rise in earnings for many chemical companies as the global economy rebounds and demand for chemical goods increases.
Later this year, a $7 billion petrochemical complex developed by Exxon Mobil and SABIC is expected to begin operations northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. The complex features the world’s largest unit for processing ethane, a component of natural gas, into ethylene, the primary building block of most plastics.
