Saudi PetroRabigh Q1 Profit Falls By Half, Blames Lower Margins

Saudi Arabia’s PetroRabigh posted a 50.3 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit on Sunday, blaming the fall on shrinking margins.

The firm, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical, made SAR205.4 million ($54.8 million) in the three months to March 31, it said in a bourse statement.

This compares with a net profit of SAR413.1 million in the year-ago period.

PetroRabigh said lower quarterly profit was due to lower profit margins on its petrochemical products.

Saudi petrochemicals producers benefit from subsidised oil, while product prices are closely linked to those of crude so the slump in oil prices has narrowed margins at the kingdom’s various manufacturers.

Last month, PetroRabigh signed loans worth SAR19.4 billion ($5.2 billion) for the expansion of its petrochemicals complex.