SABIC profits up 13 pct in first half of 2008

Published: July 19, 2008

Chairman of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan al-Saud, listens to a question at a press conference in Riyadh, in 2007. SABIC on Saturday announced first-half net profits of 14.5 billion riyals (3.8 billion dollars), 13 percent up on the first six months of 2007. (AFP Hassan Ammar)

RIYADH (AFP) Petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) on Saturday announced first-half net profits of 14.5 billion riyals (3.8 billion dollars), 13 percent up on the first six months of 2007.

SABIC's vice chairman Mohammed al-Mady, in a statement, said the increase came despite a hike in raw material costs due to the dramatic rise of oil prices and the slowdown of major economies.

In 2007, the firm's net profits already soared to 27 billion riyals (7.2 billion dollars), a whopping 33 percent higher than the previous year.

SABIC is one of the world's top 10 petrochemical enterprises, employing 16,000 staff in oil-rich Saudi Arabia and abroad. Its European arm operates two plants in the Netherlands and Germany, employing about 2,450 people.

The company is 70-percent government-owned, with the remaining 30 percent owned by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other states of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

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