Youssef Al-Benyan, Vice Chairman and CEO of SABIC, said that the Russian-Ukrainian war has strengthened the diversification of the company’s products and boosted its financial and economic strength, which was reflected in its performance results in the first quarter of 2022.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat during a press conference on Thursday, Al-Benyan noted that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis had an impact on the prices of energy and some agricultural products, noting that SABIC was not directly affected by the events.
He stressed, however, that the current crisis, in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, has pushed the company to diversify its products and increase its presence in major international markets.
On Thursday, SABIC reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2022. The company’s revenue for the said period reached SAR 52.64 billion ($14.04 billion), representing an increase of 3% compared to the previous quarter and a 40% increase year-on-year.
In comments, Al-Benyan said: “SABIC’s Q1 financial performance was robust, building further on last quarter’s good results. Our financial performance this quarter was driven by several factors, including higher product prices, our diversified portfolio and our strong, global presence.”
He continued: “As we move forward, we will realize our global growth strategy by capturing competitive feedstock resources and expanding our global presence. In doing so, we will also commit to strengthening our financial position, maintaining our operational resilience, and meeting our ESG requirements.”
Net income during the first quarter amounted to SAR 6.47 billion ($ 1.73 billion), the company said in a statement, adding that the numbers were higher than the net income of SAR 4.97 billion ($ 1.32 billion) in the previous quarter and the net income of SAR 4.86 billion ($ 1.30 billion) in the first quarter of 2021.
In its statement, SABIC pointed to its major achievements in the first quarter of 2022, which include “the successful start-up of the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas.”
The company added that it had also “completed its purchase of Clariant’s 50% share in Scientific Design, a leading catalysts producer and licensor of high-performance process technologies.”
“This will unlock new growth potential for SABIC by strengthening and complementing the high-performance capabilities of its Specialties business,” the company emphasized.
In addition, five innovative technologies created by SABIC were named among the winners of the annual Edison Awards, which honor the world’s most innovative new products, services and business leaders. The awards in four different categories reflect SABIC’s diverse range of innovative solutions, according to the company’s statement on Thursday.
