DUBAI - Saudi state oil group Aramco on Sunday reported a 73.4 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit, a steeper drop than analysts had forecast. It said it expected capital expenditure for 2020 to be at the lower end of a US$25 billion to US$30 billion range.
Net profit fell to 24.6 billion riyals for the quarter to June 30 from 92.6 billion riyals a year earlier. Brent crude prices at the end of the second quarter were down 38 per cent from a year earlier, despite an agreement by OPEC+ producers to cut oil supply by a record 9.7 million barrel per day from May to help to shore up prices and curb oversupply.
BP earlier this month cut its dividend for the first time in a decade after a record US$6.7 billion second-quarter loss, while Royal Dutch Shell in April cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two.