By Sibel Morrow
ANKARA (AA) – The net income of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company increased more than 82% during the first quarter of 2022, setting a new quarterly earnings record since its first public offering in 2019, according to the company's financial results on Sunday.
In a statement, Aramco said it gained $39.5 billion in the January-March period of this year, compared to $21.7 billion in the same period of 2021.
The world's largest oil company attributed the positive results to higher crude oil prices and volumes sold and improved downstream margins.
The price of international benchmark Brent crude soared to $139 per barrel in March, its highest level since 2008.
“Against the backdrop of increased volatility in global markets, we remain focused on helping meet the world’s demand for energy that is reliable, affordable, and increasingly sustainable,” Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser was quoted as saying in the statement.
The oil giant on Thursday surpassed US technology firm Apple to become the world's most valuable company.
The stock price of Saudi Aramco closed at 44.70 Saudi riyals ($11.92) per share on the country's stock exchange Tadawul for a market capitalization of 8.94 trillion Saudi riyals ($2.38 trillion).
Apple's stock price was at $146.07 per share on the US' tech-heavy Nasdaq index at 11.10 a.m. EDT for a market value of $2.36 trillion.
This is the first time Saudi Aramco's market value has overtaken Apple since 2020.
In 2020, the kingdom reported a $79.5 billion deficit, with revenues totaling $205.5 billion and expenditures totaling $285 billion.
The company's shares began trading on the country's stock exchange or Tadawul on Dec. 11, 2019. On the first day of trading, the stock rose to 35.2 Saudi riyals, giving it a market capitalization of around $1.88 trillion, and increased further on the second trading day to $2 trillion.
Saudi Aramco was listed as the world's fifth-largest public company in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2020. The company reported in March 2021 that earnings in 2020 were more than 44% lower than in 2019, due to global lockdowns following the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced crude demand.