Saudi oil giant Aramco’s profits plunge nearly 45% amid pandemic

COVID-19 took a heavy toll on Aramco but the company still made a profit of $49bn and will pay shareholders dividends worth $75bn.

Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco has reported a 44.4 percent plunge in last year’s net profit, as the coronavirus pandemic curbed global demand. The effect of COVID-19 took a heavy toll on the company and its peers in 2020, but oil prices have rallied this year as economies recover from the downturn and after oil producers extended output cuts. “Aramco achieved a net income of $49bn in 2020,” the company said in a statement on Sunday, down from $88.2bn in 2019.