JEDDAH, 18 July 2006 — The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) reported a net profit of SR4.6 billion in the second quarter of this year. The total profits generated in the first half of 2006 amount to SR8.8 billion compared to SR9.8 billion in the same period last year.
SABIC’s net profit touched SR19.2 billion and revenues rose to SR78 billion in 2005. The company’s total assets stood at SR137 billion at the end of last year. SABIC’s shareholder equity rose to SR62 billion in 2005.
After the profit announcement, SABIC’s shares jumped 9.93 percent to SR155 yesterday.
SABIC Vice Chairman & CEO Mohamed Al-Mady said, “SABIC’s profits in the second quarter of 2006 exceeded the profits reported in the first quarter 2006 by 9 percent. This is due to an increase in the quantity of sales and an improvement of prices, in spite of the substantial negative impact of the rise in the prices of liquid raw materials and iron ore, which led to the reduction in the profits of the first half of this year by 22 percent.
“The quantity of production for the first half of 2006 is approximately 23.5 million tons, compared with 22.5 million tons for the same period of the previous year. The quantities sold amount to 18.8 million metric tons compared to 17.3 million metric tons for the same period of the previous year, generating an income of SR40.2 billion compared to SR37.1 billion for the same period last year.
“The SABIC board of directors, under the chairmanship of Prince Saud ibn Abdallah ibn Thunayan Al-Saud, has approved the distribution of semi-annual cash dividends amounting to SR3.75 billion at SR1.5 per share (representing 15 percent of the corporate capital). The date of profit eligibility will be for the owners of the company’s shares registered in the records of the Securities Deposit Center at the end of trading Monday, July 31, 2006. The company will start payment after three weeks from the date of eligibility.
“The second quarter of the current year has witnessed the commissioning operations of Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. (SAFCO) Project IV, a second Ethylene Glycol plant at the United affiliate, and the long steel products plant within the Saudi Iron and Steel Company (HADEED) affiliate. SABIC is moving ahead with the implementation of its expansion plans to reach a total annual capacity of more than 64 million metric tons over the next two years and reach 100 million metric tons in 2015. In this regard, we have initiated the implementation steps for the Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (YANSAB) affiliate in Yanbu Industrial City with an annual capacity exceeding 4 million metric tons of petrochemical products. In addition, the Saudi Kayan affiliate, which adds a similar capacity in addition to the Eastern Petrochemical Co. (SHARQ) pilot expansion project with an annual capacity exceeding 2.8 million metric tons”.
SABIC has strengthened its global position and is now the 10th largest petrochemical company in the world and the largest non-oil company in the Middle East.