The Japan Times - Saudi Aramco quarterly profit climbs 34.6% amid elevated oil prices

RIYADH: Saudi oil giant Aramco on Tuesday announced a 34.6 percent jump in third-quarter net profit, as the Middle East war keeps crude prices high even while the kingdom’s energy infrastructure comes under regular attack. The company said net profit reached 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2 billion), compared with around 101 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted net income, which excludes exceptional items, came in at 116.9 billion riyals. The median analyst forecast for adjusted net income was $30.66 billion, as reported by an external estimate based on 12 analysts. In the second quarter, Aramco reported a 44 percent year-on-year rise in net profit to 122.6 billion riyals.

“Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on central energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security,” President and CEO Amin H Nasser said in a statement. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have regularly targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries since hostilities resumed in July, and have stepped up their strikes in recent weeks. Last month, the Houthis said they had targeted Aramco’s headquarters, a vast complex in the kingdom’s east. Saudi officials said a building was hit in the area housing Aramco’s operations center. The kingdom has also had to deal with the Houthis and Iran disrupting traffic through the Bab Al-Mandeb and Hormuz straits.

The war, which began on Feb 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, has upended global energy markets, led countries to draw down strategic reserves and fueled inflation. Energy majors worldwide have seen earnings surge as supply disruptions push up prices and refining margins. Oil prices fell over 7 percent on Monday, however, on signs that Tehran and Washington were renewing dialogue. “The earning results are likely to be rosier compared (with) a year ago, when oil prices were much lower, but less promising relative to last quarter,” Robert Mogielnicki, a research fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP.

At home, months of uncertainty have added to economic headwinds. Although government revenues have come in above initial forecasts, Saudi Arabia has raised its projected 2026 budget deficit to 245 billion riyals, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from an initial forecast of 165 billion riyals. The finance ministry expects the economy to shrink by 3.6 percent this year, driven by a 21.8 percent fall in oil-related activity. It expects the deficit to narrow to 191 billion riyals, or 3.6 percent of GDP, in 2027. — AFP

S.Ogawa--JT