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Sabic Profit Plunges 95 Percent on Global Economic Slowdown | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), the world’s largest petrochemical firm by market value, posted a 95.5 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit due to the global economic slowdown.

Net profit in the three months to December 31 fell to 311 million riyals (82.9 million dollars) compared with 6.87 billion riyals (1.83 billion dollars) a year earlier, the government-controlled company said in a statement.

The quarterly profit marked a 95.7 percent drop from the previous quarter when Sabic made a net profit of 7.24 billion riyals (1.93 billion dollars), it said.

Sabic attributed the fall in profit to “the decline in demand for petrochemical products and metals because of the economic recession that has hit the world’s major economies.”

It also blamed the global credit crunch that has “led to difficulties for consumers in obtaining the necessary financial facilities from banks and financial institutions.”

“The decline in demand for petrochemical products, particularly specialty plastics, arising from the crisis afflicting the global automotive industry and building and construction sectors, has had a strong impact on the performance of Sabic affiliates outside Saudi Arabia,” it added.