Saudi Aramco Q2 profit drops 3.4 percent on lower volumes, refining margins

Oil giant Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 3.4 percent fall in second-quarter profit on lower crude volumes and softer refining margins.

Aramco posted second-quarter net income of 109.01 billion riyals ($29.03 billion) in the three months to June 30, beating a company-provided median estimate from 15 analysts of $27.7 billion.

Dividends of $31.1 billion were declared for the second quarter, including $10.8 billion in performance-linked payouts.

Aramco introduced the performance-linked dividends last year, on top of a base dividend that is paid regardless of results, an uncommon practice among listed companies.

Aramco said on Tuesday it expects $124.2 billion in total dividends in 2024, roughly in line with previous guidance of $124.3 billion.

The Saudi government holds nearly 81.5 percent of Aramco and relies heavily on the company’s payouts, which include royalties and taxes.

Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund PIF holds another 16 percent of Aramco and also benefits from its dividends.