A first glimpse at Saudi Aramco’s finances by Bloomberg News reveals the state oil giant made a whopping $33.8 billion in net income in the first half of 2017 and has very little debt, according to a series of stories published by the news site.
The figures have previously only been seen by top Saudi leadership and royalty. The accounts that were seen by Bloomberg were prepared to an IFRS standard.
The accounts also reveal the company’s obvious dependence on oil prices for profitability. In the first of half of 2016, when crude averaged $41, the company made $7.2 billion in net income. This year, profits are likely to be significantly higher than 2017 after the recent rally in oil to more than $70 a barrel, Bloomberg said.
The $33.8b is well ahead of the second largest company in the world, Apple.
The reveal by Bloomberg comes as the Kingdom eyes increasingly higher prices for oil. Recent reports indicate that Saudi Arabia is “likely targeting oil prices at $80 a barrel” in part to boost the valuation of Saudi Aramco ahead of a planned IPO.
