Oil & Gas Aramco base oil unit Q2 profit up despite low sales By Reuters July 31, 2023 Luberef/Twitter Luberef reported a first half net profit of SAR900 million from SAR740.1 million a year earlier Saudi oil giant Aramco’s base oil subsidiary reported a small jump in second-quarter profit on Sunday, mainly on lower income tax expenses and zakat, or charitable deductions, it said in a bourse statement, despite a 22 percent drop in sales. Net profit at Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef) rose 3.97 percent to SAR454.85 million ($121.28 million) in the quarter, while revenue dropped 21.8 percent to SAR2.6 billion, from SAR3.3 billion in the second quarter of 2022. The company, which listed 30 percent of its shares in an IPO in December, said the rise in net profit was due to a “decrease in zakat and income tax expenses due to Luberef being subjected to zakat only after its listing”. Luberef reported a first half net profit of SAR900.5 million from SAR740.1 million a year earlier, despite a decrease in revenue of almost 30 percent. It said the increase was due to lower expenses as well as higher base oil crack margins.
