UpdateSABIC posts record full-year profits

21 January 2008 07:57  [Source: ICIS news]

(Adds operating profits, chairman’s statement in paragraphs 3 and 4)

 

DUBAI (ICIS news)--Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) has posted an 11.9% rise in fourth-quarter net profits year on year and record earnings for 2007.

 

High petrochemical prices boosted its overall profits for the year to a record Saudi riyal (SR) 27bn ($7.2bn), up 33% from a year ago, the Saudi major said in a statement to the local stock exchange late on Saturday.

 

The firm’s operating profits for 2007 rose 32% to SR41bn, compared with SR31bn in 2006. It did not provide operating profit results for the fourth quarter.

 

“The increase in profits was in parallel with an increase in profit per share to SR10.81, compared to SR8.12 last year. This increase occurred due to a 15% increase in sales and the rise of global prices of key products,” said SABIC chairman Prince Saud Ibn Abdullah Ibn Thenayan Al-Saud.

 

However, the company’s fourth quarter net profits fell 7.16% to SR6.87bn, when compared with the year’s third quarter, SABIC said, without giving reasons for the decline.

 

The fourth-quarter results also included revenue from subsidiary SABIC Innovative Plastics, a polycarbonate (PC) maker which the company bought from GE for $11.6bn last year.

 

New plants that came on stream at SABIC this year included Jubail United Petrochemical’s ethylene glycol plant, urea and ammonia plants at Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co (Safco) and a reinforced steel plant at Saudi Iron & Steel Co (Hadeed).

 

Subsidiary Safco more than doubled its fourth-quarter net profits to SR741.5m on high urea prices. Its 2007 net profits rose 92% to SR2.2bn as urea values reached $405/tonne.

 

Production was also added in the UK following its acquisition of Huntsman’s European base chemicals and polymers business.

 

SABIC Europe’s CEO Boy Litjens said earlier that its sales in 2007 would be greater than €8bn ($11.8bn), with the new assets in the UK, including the 865,000 tonne/year Wilton cracker and derivatives businesses contributing to its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

 

($1=SR3.75)

($1 = €0.68)

 

Jeanne Lim contributed to this article.

By: Abdelghani Henni
65 6780 4359

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