Saudi Aramco tips 2020 difficult year

Dubai - The world's largest listed firm posted a net profit of SR62.5 billion ($16.66 billion) in the three months to March, compared to $22.2 billion a year earlier.

Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Tuesday posted a 25 percent slump in first-quarter profit and said the coronavirus crisis which triggered a crash in oil prices would weigh heavily on demand in the year ahead.
Aramco was listed on the Saudi stock market in December following a historic $29.4 billion initial public offering - the world's largest - but since then has faced a torrid environment.
"The Covid-19 crisis is unlike anything the world has experienced in recent history and we are adapting to a highly complex and rapidly changing business environment," CEO Amin Nasser said.
Aramco said that a steep decline in global demand for energy and prices caused by the pandemic would undermine its full-year results.
"Longer term we remain confident that demand for energy will rebound as global economies recover," Nasser said.
The world's largest listed firm posted a net profit of SR62.5 billion ($16.66 billion) in the three months to March, compared to $22.2 billion a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco has closed a $10 billion one-year loan provided by a group of 10 banks, LPC, a fixed income news service which is part of Refinitiv, reported. HSBC, Japan's SMBC and First Abu Dhabi Bank led the transaction, while BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Agricole, JPMorgan, Mizuho, MUFG and Societe Generale also participated in the loan, LPC said.
- AFP, Reuters