Aramco hikes dividend 30% to $98 billion despite drop in profit
By Yousef Saba and Maha El Dahan
DUBAI (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) boosted its dividend despite net profit falling 24.7% to $121.3 billion in 2023 on lower oil prices and volumes, showing the state's continued reliance on oil revenue as it seeks to diversify.
The profit, down from $161.1 billion in 2022, was still the company's second-highest on record, Aramco said on Sunday as it reported total dividends for the year of $97.8 billion, up 30%. Oil revenues made up 62% of total state revenues last year.
The Saudi government, which directly holds about 82.2% of Aramco, relies heavily on the oil giant's generous payouts, which also include royalties and taxes. The world's top oil exporter is spending billions of dollars trying to diversify its economy and find alternative sources of wealth having relied on oil for decades.
«Our balance sheet remains strong, even after our significant growth programme and dividend payouts,» Chief Executive Amin Nasser said.
Nasser expects global oil demand for 2024 at 104 million barrels a day, up from an average of 102.4 million barrels in 2023.
The state's ambitious economic agenda, known as Vision 2030, is spearheaded by the sovereign Public Investment Fund, which owns 16% of Aramco, after a fresh transfer by the government of 8% to companies PIF owns last week.
Aramco declared a base dividend, paid regardless of results, of $20.3 billion for the fourth quarter. It expects to pay out $43.1 billion in performance-linked dividends this year, including $10.8 billion to be paid out in the first quarter.
The base dividend was increased 4% year on year, and the performance-linked dividend was about 9% higher.
The company said capital investments were
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