Saudi chemical giant profits plummet over decline in prices

Saudi petrochemicals giant SABIC said on Sunday its net profits for the second quarter and first half of this year dived due to a sharp decline in product prices.

SABIC net profit for the three months to June 30 slid by 68 percent to 2.1 billion riyals ($560 million) from a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Profit for the first six months of the year plunged 55 percent to 5.5 billion riyals ($1.47 billion), it said.

The slide in earnings was blamed on "lower average selling prices," and a drop in profits made by its associates and joint ventures, said the largest listed company on the Saudi bourse.

Revenues from sales in the first half of the year dropped by 14 percent to $19.5 billion, reported SABIC, which is among the world's 10 biggest chemical firms.

State-owned energy conglomerate Aramco said in March it was buying the government's 70-percent stake in SABIC for $69.1 billion, in a deal aimed at providing cash to finance the kingdom's ambitious transformation programme.

Aramco, the world's most profitable company, is paying most of the price in cash over the next few years but has already raised a $12 billion loan from leading international banks.