$1.7 trillion giant Saudi Aramcos profits drop almost $6 billion after oil prices crash below $0

Saudi Aramco

• $1.7 trillion oil giant Saudi Aramco reported a 25% fall in profits in the first quarter of 2020, compared to the same period last year.
• The Saudi Arabian firm blamed the crash in oil prices caused by collapsing commodity demand during the coronavirus pandemic for the fall.
• Profits dropped from $22.2 billion in Q1 2019 to $16.7 billion in the first three months of 2020.
• Saudi Aramco president and chief executive, Amin Nasser, said: “The COVID-19 crisis is unlike any the world has experienced.”
• Watch Saudi Aramco trade live here

Saudi Aramco, the $1.7 trillion oil giant, reported a 25% drop in profits in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year as the impact of historically low oil prices and lack of demand weighed down on profitability. 

Saudi Aramco reported a net income of $16.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020, down 25% from $22.2 billion in the same period of 2019.

Saudi Aramco president and chief executive, Amin Nasser, said: “The COVID-19 crisis is unlike any the world has experienced and we must all adapt to highly complex and rapidly changing developments.”

Saudi Aramco has implemented additional measures to optimize spending which resulted in reducing expected 2020 capital expenditures, it said.

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The oil producer expects capital expenditures for the fiscal year to be between $25 billion and 30 billion, compared to capital expenditures of $32.8 billion in 2019. 

Shares in Saudi Aramco, did not move much on the results. The stock price is currently hovering around 31 Saudi riyals ($8.28), up 1.3% as of 6.30 a.m. ET, according to Markets Insider data. 

Aramco’s report of lower profits came a day after the state oil producer announced it will further cut production in an effort to support a sector completely battered by the coronavirus.

From June, Saudi Arabia’s production will be about 7.5 million barrels per day, roughly 4.8 million barrels per day lower than its April output. 

Saudi Arabia increased its supply of oil in March, in a move to punish Russia for not agreeing to production cuts in order to soothe the coronavirus crisis. The move sent the oil price tumbling and culminated the start of a bitter price war between the two nations. 

This prompted OPEC and its members to consider production cuts to shore up the price of the commodity and prevent the energy industry. 

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The kingdom’s second round of cuts follows the signing of a historical deal with OPEC and its allies in April. 

US oil prices turned negative for the first time in history three weeks ago, which prompted OPEC to summon its member allies and hold an emergency meeting as well as consider production cuts earlier than expected. 

Oil prices have recovered since but are still subdued.

The price of US oil is currently hovering around $25.29, up 3.2% on the day according to Markets Insider data, meanwhile, Brent, the international benchmark is down 0.5%, just above $30 a barrel.