RIYADH: Shares of Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical giant SABIC were down in today’s trading session, despite reporting a massive earnings beat in the year 2021.
The share price of the Riyadh-based chemical maker dropped by 1.62 percent on closing, reaching SR121.4 ($32).
This followed a staggering 32,800 percent jump in 2021 profits from a year earlier in addition to a stronger brand value, which currently stands at $4.67 billion, the homegrown firm said in a statement.
Profits hit SR23 billion, compared to SR70 million in 2020. This was in line with over a 49 percent hike in revenue, reaching SR175 billion in the same period.
The company attributed the improved profits to higher average selling prices as well as an increase in its share in joint ventures and subsidiaries.
“Those results were driven by our operational performance and higher prices for most of our key products. This led to higher EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) during the fourth quarter of 2021,” SABIC’s CEO, Yousef Al-Benyan, said in a statement.
“Our commitment to sustainability was demonstrated in our roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Alongside our ambitions to tackle climate change, we continued to drive the circular economy and integrate ESG principles into our businesses,” he added.
Another major milestone for SABIC was advancing its global brand ranking with a 16 percent rise in brand value, positioning it in second place among the most valuable brands in the chemical sector as well as one of the top 500 valued brands globally.
As he discussed his outlook for 2022 in a virtual press conference, Al-Benyan reiterated that he sees headwinds to product demand growth this year.
He was cautious on his expectations for 2022 and expected demand to be "healthy" compared to last year's levels despite challenges such as high energy prices.
