Rabigh Petrochemicals sees 26% decline in second quarter profit

First half of the year saw a 600% jump in net profit due to higher sale prices and volumes of chemical products

A picture shows Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co. facilities, 120 kms north of the Red Sea Saudi city of Jeddah,12 November 2007. The Saudi and Kuwaiti oil ministers said yesterday that OPEC will discuss the possibility of raising oil output if needed to cool soaring prices. AFP PHOTO/HASSAN AMMAR / AFP PHOTO / HASSAN AMMAR
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Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, saw a 26 per cent decline in second quarter net profit, due to lower refined products margin, despite a nearly 600 per cent jump in earnings for the first half.

The company, which operates a 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery on Saudi Arabia's western Red Sea coast, posted 235 million Saudi riyals (Dh230m) net profit for the second quarter of the year, compared with 316m riyals for the same period last year.

Despite a lower products margin, the company's profitability for the quarter was partially offset by "improved petrochemical products sales prices and quantities", Petro Rabigh said in a statement.

Gross profit for the quarter, however, increased 4.57 per cent to 664m riyals, while operational profit for the same period declined 18.58 per cent to 333m riyals.

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Net profit for the first six months of the year climbed to 531m riyals from 76m riyals last year - a 598.68 per cent jump, which Rabigh said was due to its petchems products being sold at higher prices and volumes.

Gross profit for the first half more than doubled to 1.436 billion riyals from 700m riyals for the same period last year, while operational profit for the same period nearly tripled to 729m riyals from 241m riyals.

Rabigh also saw sales for the second quarter rise 21 per cent to 10.7bn riyals from 8.8bn riyals last year. Total sales for the first half was 20.59bn riyals, an increase of 33 per cent over the same period last year. Total comprehensive income for the chemicals operator declined 26 per cent year-on-year to 235m riyals.

Shareholders equity stood at 10.3bn riyals, an increase of 21 per cent from the 8,52bn riyals registered at year-end.