SABIC sees positive Q1 though cautious over COVID-19 | Reuters
Saudi Basic Industries Corp, the world’s fourth-biggest petrochemicals firm, expects business performance to be positive in the first quarter of 2021 after an uptick in chemical prices but remains cautious given COVID-19 uncertainty, its CEO said on Sunday.
Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC will have a financial benefit worth $3 billion to $4 billion, Yousef al-Benyan told reporters on a virtual news conference.
“There is an enhancement of cooperation between SABIC and Aramco. As mentioned, God willing, the benefits between the two companies is expected in the range of $3-4 billion. SABIC’s share of that is from $1.5-1.8 billion,” the chief executive said.
SABIC posted a net profit of 2.22 billion riyals ($592 million) in the fourth quarter, reversing a net loss of 890 million riyals a year earlier as the impairment charges it took on certain capital assets were reversed.
“Our outlook is that Q1 is going to be more or less equal to Q4 given the improvement we have experienced. We have seen an average 13% improvement in chemical prices,” Benyan said, adding, however, that prices remain lower than 2019 levels.
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