Aramco announces third quarter 2023 results: Net income reached $32.6 billion

• Net income: $32.6 billion (Q3 2022: $42.4 billion)

• Cash flow from operating activities: $31.4 billion (Q3 2022: $54.0 billion)

• Free cash flow1: $20.3 billion (Q3 2022: $45.0 billion)

• Gearing ratio1: -7.6% as at September 30, 2023, compared to -7.9% at end of 2022

• Q2 base dividend of $19.5 billion paid in the third quarter; Q3 base dividend of $19.5 billion to be paid in the fourth quarter

• First performance-linked dividend distribution of $9.9 billion paid in Q3; second distribution of approximately $9.9 billion to be paid in Q4 based on combined full-year 2022 and nine-month 2023 results

• Strategic expansion continues with agreement on first international LNG investment, and plan to enter South American market through a downstream retail acquisition

• Company increases raw gas processing capacity by 800 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), including approximately 750 mmscfd of sales gas processing capacity, through Hawiyah Gas Plant expansion

• Collaboration with Stellantis indicates eFuel compatibility with 24 engine families in Europe

Aramco’s net income for the third quarter of 2023 was SAR 122.19 billion ($32.58 billion), compared to SAR 159.12 billion ($42.43 billion) for the same quarter in 2022. The decrease principally reflects the impact of lower crude oil prices and volumes sold. This was partially offset by a reduction in the production royalties primarily driven by lower average effective royalty rate, lower crude oil prices and lower volumes sold, and lower income taxes and zakat.

Net income for the third quarter of 2023 was SAR 122.19 billion ($32.58 billion), compared to SAR 112.81 billion ($30.08 billion) for the second quarter of 2023. The increase was mainly driven by higher crude oil prices and improved refining margins. This was partially offset by lower volumes sold, and an increase in income taxes and zakat.

Net income for the first nine months of 2023 was SAR 354.54 billion ($94.54 billion), compared to SAR 488.78 billion ($130.34 billion) for the same period of 2022. The decrease was largely attributable to lower crude oil prices and weakening refining and chemicals margins. This was partially offset by a decrease in production royalties, primarily due to lower average effective royalty rate and lower crude oil prices, higher finance and other income, and lower income taxes and zakat.

Given the nature of Saudi Aramco’s business in exploring, prospecting, drilling and extracting hydrocarbon substances (Upstream), Saudi Aramco’s consolidated statement of income does not include gross profit.

– Other income related to sales was SAR 64.84 billion for the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2022: SAR 70.22 billion, Q2 2023: SAR 45.75 billion). As a result, revenue and other income related to sales amounted to SAR 488.94 billion for the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2022: SAR 613.94 billion, Q2 2023: SAR 448.32 billion).

– Other income related to sales was SAR 152.97 billion for the first nine months of 2023 (YTD 2022: SAR 206.42 billion). As a result, revenue and other income related to sales amounted to SAR 1,397.09 billion for the first nine months of 2023 (YTD 2022: SAR 1,779.21 billion).

Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President and CEO, said “Our robust financial results reinforce Aramco’s ability to generate consistent value for our shareholders, and we continue to identify new opportunities to evolve our business and meet the needs of customers.”

During the third quarter we agreed to make our first international investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) to capitalize on rising LNG demand, and announced our intention to enter the South American retail market. These planned investments demonstrate the scale of our ambition, the broad scope of our activities, and the disciplined execution of our strategy. I am excited by the progress we are making, which I believe will complement both our Upstream capacity expansion and our growing Downstream presence, he explained.

“We intend to continue investing across the hydrocarbon chain, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to optimize our operations and advance the development of emerging energy solutions. It is an approach rooted in our belief that a balanced and realistic energy transition plan should consider the needs of all geographies in order to avoid disparities between global energy consumers.”, he excluded.