Saudi Aramco’s profit fell 44% in 2020

Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, said Sunday that its net income last year had fallen by 44%, to $49 billion, as lower oil prices stemming from the pandemic cut into earnings.

Company CEO Amin Nasser described 2020 in a statement accompanying the earnings data as “one of the most challenging years in recent history.”

But Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, said it would stick by a pledge to pay a $75 billion dividend. Nearly all of the payment will go to the Saudi government, which owns about 98% of the company.

The company was listed on the local Tadawul exchange in 2019 in the largest valuation for an initial public offering.