Saudi Oil Giant Aramco Posts Third-Quarter Profits of $27.5 Billion

The Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at Hyvolution exhibition in Paris, France, February 1, 2024. (Reuters)
The Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at Hyvolution exhibition in Paris, France, February 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Saudi Oil Giant Aramco Posts Third-Quarter Profits of $27.5 Billion

The Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at Hyvolution exhibition in Paris, France, February 1, 2024. (Reuters)
The Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at Hyvolution exhibition in Paris, France, February 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco reported third-quarter profits of $27.5 billion on Tuesday, down about 15% from last year as low oil prices ate into its revenues.

Aramco had revenues of $111.1 billion over the quarter, the company said in a filing on Riyadh's Tadawul stock exchange. It had $113 billion in revenues the same quarter last year.

Profits for the third quarter last year were $32.5 billion.

The profit decrease “was mainly due to the impact of lower crude oil prices and weakening refining margins,” Aramco said.

Profit for the first nine months of 2024 was $83.9 billion, down from $94.5 billion the year before.

Oil prices have been depressed over recent days as tensions in the Middle East appear to have receded slightly and as China's economy has slowed. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at around $75 a barrel.

Aramco will pay dividends of $20.28 billion for the third quarter and a performance-linked dividend of $10.77 billion, the company said. It has said it hopes its overall dividend for the year will be over $124 billion.



French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
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French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

People in France must work more, Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on Monday, adding that the fact that French people worked less than their counterparts in Europe was harming the economy due to lower tax contributions and social security payments.

The government is examining reforms to speed up its sluggish economic growth, although changes to work practices are often opposed by trade unions.

"On average, a French person works clearly less than his neighbors, over the course of a year," Armand told C News TV.

"The consequence of this is fewer social security payments, less money to finance our social models, fewer tax receipts and ultimately fewer jobs and less economic growth."

France, the euro zone's second biggest economy, wants to cut its public deficit to a targeted 5% of GDP by 2025.

The country's 35-hour work week, introduced in 2000, has typically been fiercely defended by trade unions, while reforms to France's pension system have also faced widespread protests.

"Let's all work a bit more, collectively speaking, starting off by making sure that everyone respects the working hours that they have been given, in all sectors," Armand said.