Ma’aden Annual Profits Fall to SAR 1.6 Billion, Drop 12.5% in 4th Quarter

 A metal factory affiliated with Ma’aden (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A metal factory affiliated with Ma’aden (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Ma’aden Annual Profits Fall to SAR 1.6 Billion, Drop 12.5% in 4th Quarter

 A metal factory affiliated with Ma’aden (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A metal factory affiliated with Ma’aden (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) recorded a decrease in its net profits during 2023 by about 83.07 percent, mainly as a result of decline in sales on the back of lower commodity market prices of all products except gold.

In a disclosure to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), the company said that its net profit after zakat and tax dropped to SAR 1.58 billion, compared to SAR 9.32 billion in 2022.

The company attributed the reason for the decrease in net profit due to the decline in sales as a result of lower prices of commodity for all products except gold.

The company added that net profit was also impacted by higher finance cost due to increased borrowing rates and lower share of profit from joint ventures on the back of lower commodity market prices. This was partially offset by lower raw material prices, higher income from time deposit and lower income taxes and zakat.

Moreover, sales during the current year decreased by SAR 11 billion (27%) compared to last year, which is mainly due to lower commodity prices for all products except gold. This decrease in sales was partially offset by higher sales volumes of ammonia phosphate fertilizer, alumina and gold, Ma’aden reported.

It noted that sales amounted to about SAR 29.27 billion, compared to SAR 40.28 billion in 2022.



Oil Prices Steady as Expected OPEC+ Output Increase Offsets Canada Supply Pressure

FILE PHOTO: A worker walks at Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks at Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo
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Oil Prices Steady as Expected OPEC+ Output Increase Offsets Canada Supply Pressure

FILE PHOTO: A worker walks at Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks at Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo

Oil prices held steady on Wednesday as concern around the OPEC+ groups next output increase were offset by Canadian supply pressures due to wildfires there, while global trade tensions continue to linger.

Brent crude futures inched 18 cents lower, or down around 0.3%, at $65.45 a barrel by 0905 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was 19 cents lower, also down 0.3%, at $63.22 a barrel.

The unwinding of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July by OPEC+ states was weighing on the market, Janiv Shah, vice president of oil commodity markets analysis at Rystad Energy said, but there was some support from the removal of Canada's 344,000 bpd production due to the wildfires.

Both benchmarks climbed about 2% on Tuesday to a two-week high, driven by worries over supply disruption and expectations that Iran would reject a US nuclear deal proposal key to easing sanctions on the major oil producer, Reuters reported.

"Geopolitical tensions are simmering in the background, with risks to fundamentals skewed to the upside, as Russian and Iranian oil exports remain elevated," Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh said in a research note late on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are likely to speak this week, days after Trump accused China of violating a deal to roll back tariffs and trade curbs.

On Tuesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its global growth forecast as the fallout from Trump's trade war takes a bigger toll on the US economy.