Saudi Aramco made $111b in 2018

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Aramco is by far the most profitable company in the world, according to financial data disclosed by the state-run oil giant in Saudi Arabia.

The company made a whopping $111 billion in 2018, the data shows. By comparison, Apple made $59.53 billion in fiscal 2018. Saudi Aramco also made more money than JP Morgan Chase, Google-parent Alphabet, Facebook and Exxon Mobil combined. Put together, those companies made nearly $106 billion in 2018, according to FactSet. Saudi Aramco made its financial information available in a prospectus for a $10 billion bond sale, which the company plans to use to finance a nearly $70 billion stake in Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals company.

Despite Aramco’s massive earnings, the company did not receive the top credit rating from agencies like Moody’s since its heavy dependence on the country’s economy could be a headwind for the company. Moody’s issued an A1 rating for Aramco. Companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil have ratings of Aa2 and Aaa, which are higher than Aramco’s. “Credit linkages to the government of Saudi Arabia (A1 stable; A1 foreign currency ceiling) are significant, and result in our decision to constrain Aramco’s rating to that of the government,” Rehan Akbar, senior credit officer at Moody’s, said in a note.

“While there is a clear track record of Aramco having been run as a commercially independent company, the government’s budget is highly reliant upon contributions from Aramco in the form of royalties, taxes and dividends,” Akbar added.