Thursday 05 / February / 2026
Riyadh: Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), the world's fourth-biggest petrochemicals company, reported an 81 per cent leap in second-quarter net profit on Sunday, citing higher selling prices and a jump in sales volumes.
Sabic made a net profit of 6.70 billion riyals ($1.79 billion) in the three months to June 30, up from 3.71 billion riyals in the year-earlier period, it said in a bourse statement.
Analysts had on average expected Sabic to make a net profit of 5.8 billion riyals.
Quarterly sales climbed 26 per cent from a year earlier to 43.28 billion riyals, and were up 3 per cent from the previous quarter.
Sabic has been a focus of investor attention after Reuters reported earlier this month that Saudi national oil giant Aramco aimed to buy a stake in Sabic, possibly taking the entire 70 per cent holding owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Aramco subsequently confirmed the report.
Sabic's results are closely tied to oil prices and global economic growth because its products -- plastics, fertilisers and metals -- are used extensively in construction, agriculture, industry and the manufacturing of consumer goods.
Sabic expects the second half of the year to be equally positive for its earnings, its Chief Executive Yousef Al Benyan said on Sunday.
The first half of 2018 was "very positive" and Sabic expects the second half of the year to be "equally positive," Al Benyan told a news conference.
Meanwhile, Al Benyan said talks on the potential acquisition of a stake in Sabic are taking place solely between national oil firm Saudi Aramco and the kingdom's top sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF).
"Hard to expect anything in this regard -- Aramco-PIF talks are between an owner and a future investor," Al Benyan told a news conference. "I can assure you we have trust in our regulators."
This month, Aramco confirmed a Reuters report that it was working on the possible purchase of a "strategic stake" in Sabic from the PIF.
JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have been picked to advise on Aramco's plan to buy up to a 70 per cent stake in the petrochemical maker, sources familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Electricity Co (SEC), the Gulf's largest utility firm, reported a 17.3 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit on Sunday as revenues from electricity services fell and financing costs rose.
The company, which the government is aiming to restructure to improve efficiency, made a net profit of 1.85 billion riyals ($493 million) in the three months to June 30, according to a bourse statement.
That compares with a profit of 2.23 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier.
The results fell short of two analysts' forecasts. SICO Bahrain had expected a net profit of 2.11 billion riyals, while NCB Capital forecast a net profit of 2.15 billion riyals.
SEC's results are seasonal because of the big swing between power demand in winter and summer, when high temperatures lead most homes and businesses to use more air conditioning.
Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, owns 74 per cent of SEC. The kingdom will consider selling a large stake in SEC to SoftBank Vision Fund, but the Saudi government would retain a controlling shareholding, the utility said in October.
