Stock market today: Stocks fall as investors rotate out of tech into Jackson Hole
Investing.com -- Saudi Arabian Oil Co, also known as Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222), said on Sunday that its net profit for the first quarter fell to $26.01 billion, down from $27.27 billion a year prior.
Despite the drop, the figures exceeded analysts’ expectations of $25.745 billion, according to a poll by Visible Alpha.
The oil giant attributed the decline in profits to weaker oil prices, which have been affected by global economic uncertainty, trade tensions, and the threat of oversupply as OPEC+ ramps up production.
Aramco reported that the average price for crude oil dropped to $76.3 per barrel, compared to $83.0 per barrel during the same period last year.
Aramco’s cash flow from operations, a key metric that tracks the cash a company generates from its regular business operations, saw a decline. The figure dropped to $31.7 billion from $33.6 billion.
In addition to its earnings report, Aramco declared a dividend of $21.14 billion, marking a 4.2% increase from the previous year.
The company also announced a performance-linked dividend of nearly $220 million, set to be paid in the second quarter.