The financial results of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) - the largest producer of petrochemicals, fertilizers and steel in the Middle East - revealed that the company’s performance was affected during the second quarter of 2023 by the conditions of the global chemical markets and the decline in demand.
The company recorded an 85 percent decline in profits on an annual basis in the second quarter of this year, registering SAR 1.18 billion ($314.5 million), compared to SAR 7.93 billion ($2.1 billion) in the same quarter of 2022.
“The global economy is continuously slowing down as a result of tightening monetary policies to confront inflation, leading to weaker demand,” said Abdulrahman Al Fageeh, chief executive of SABIC.
He added: “In the second quarter, we maintained our sales volume despite the challenging economic environment with increased supply of our main products. We achieved the minimum target of our synergies with Saudi Aramco two years ahead of time by reaching $1.51 billion on a cumulative basis.”
According to the CEO, “the company is committed to innovation and sustainability as two main pillars of our growth.”
Al-Fageeh noted that in the second quarter, Sabic completed a project to convert oil from plastic waste into certified circular polymers, becoming the first company in the Middle East and North Africa region to adopt this method.
He added that the company has completed sending the first approved commercial shipments of low-carbon ammonia to India and Taiwan, which confirms its keenness to provide value solutions to customers and markets to achieve net zero emissions.
Over the course of the second quarter of 2023, Sabic announced many agreements and strategic developments that support the company’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality, and its vision of becoming the preferred global leader in chemicals.
