Via Maha El Dahan and Yousef Saba in reuters.com: “Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) reported a near 38% drop in second-quarter net profit on Monday amid weaker oil prices and thinner refining and chemicals margins, as it boosted its dividend with a new performance-linked payout. Aramcos net profit fell to 112.81 billion riyals ($30.07 billion) for the quarter to June 30 from 181.64 billion riyals a year earlier, beating a company-provided median estimate from 15 analysts of $29.8 billion. The group declared a base dividend of about $19.5 billion for the second quarter, roughly in line with its payout for the first quarter.”
