Aramco’s payments to the Saudi Arabian government fell by 30% last year, even as the company stuck with a $75 billion dividend, after the coronavirus pandemic sent crude prices tumbling.
The world’s biggest oil producer transferred 413 billion riyals ($110 billion) to the state in 2020 in the form of dividends, royalties and incomes taxes, Aramco said in a financial statement on Monday. The money is a crucial source of revenue for the government, whose budget deficit widened last year as the economy went into recession.
Aramco, 98% state-owned, kept its pledge to pay the $75 billion dividend, the largest of any listed firm. But royalties and taxes more than halved to around $41 billion.
Aramco took on $90 billion-worth of loans and bonds in 2020, causing its net debt-to-equity ratio to surge to 55% from 26% at the end of 2019. Many of those liabilities were used to fund a $69 billion acquisition of chemicals maker Sabic from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
The Saudi government charges Aramco a royalty fee on every barrel of oil it produces, which helps it generate income on top of the income taxes and dividends.
No comments:
Post a Comment