“Aramco”: Cash dividends will increase by 27% this year

Ziad Al-Murshed, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Saudi Aramco, said that the dividends announced by the company today represent an increase of about 60%, compared to the same period last year, noting that they will increase by 27% this year.

He indicated in an interview with Al Arabiya Business that the distributions will be disbursed during the current month, and will reach 466 billion riyals in 2024, subject to the estimates and approval of the Board of Directors.

He added: Our debt ratio is negative 3.8%, and our financial position is very strong, and these results help us to implement our ambitious investment program, noting that the company has added 15 trillion cubic feet to gas reserves and two billion barrels of condensate, and its expansion projects are continuing in the Dammam, Marjan, Beri and Zuluf fields, and it is continuing in Developing the Jafoura field to expand gas production.

Al-Murshed stressed that the acquisition of “Med Ocean” allows the company to expand in the liquefied gas sector, and the recovery of tourism globally increases the global demand for oil.

Aramco’s preliminary financial results for the first quarter showed that its net profits declined by 14.45% to about 102.27 billion riyals, compared to about 119.54 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2023.