Saudi Aramco's profit falls 73%; sticks with dividend despite debt surge

The results cap a turbulent period for the world's biggest oil exporter. Prices briefly turned negative in the US in April as the virus battered the global economy and Aramco slashed hundreds of jobs

Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil giant pressed ahead with a plan to pay $75 billion in dividends this year despite crashing profit and a surge in debt, as the kingdom battles a widening budget deficit.

Saudi Aramco said net income for the three months ending in June fell to 24.6 billion riyals ($6.6 billion), down 73 per cent from a year earlier, after crude prices collapsed. Aramco will pay a dividend of $18.75 billion for the quarter, most of it to the government, which owns around 98 per cent of the company’s stock.

Aramco’s performance and demand for energy will probably