SABIC returns to quarterly profit after second-quarter loss
Saudi petrochemicals producer SABIC posted third-quarter net profit of 499 million riyals after a loss in the previous quarter. Revenue rose 14 percent from the second quarter to 28.17 billion riyals, although it remained below a year earlier. Separately, the company reported adjusted net income of 840 million riyals, a different measure from the statutory net profit figure.
Economics & Markets··Morning
Profit follows a second-quarter loss
Saudi petrochemicals producer SABIC returned to profit in the third quarter after a loss in the preceding three months. Revenue reached 28.17 billion Saudi riyals, about 14 percent above the second quarter. Argaam’s results account and Arab News’s separate report both describe the quarterly rebound, though they emphasise different profit measures. The income figures must be kept separate.[1], [2]
Net profit attributable to shareholders was 499 million riyals, according to Argaam’s financial account, compared with a loss of about 833 million riyals in the second quarter. The third-quarter figure was also 16 percent above the 430 million riyals reported a year earlier. These are reported net-income figures, rather than a measure adjusted by management to remove selected items.[1]
Revenue rises from the previous quarter
SABIC separately reported adjusted net income of 840 million riyals, against an adjusted loss of 380 million riyals in the second quarter. Arab News highlighted that adjusted result and reported adjusted earnings per share of 0.28 riyal. The adjusted and reported profits answer different accounting questions; the 840 million riyals should not be substituted for the 499 million riyal net profit.[2], [1]
Quarterly revenue rose from 24.81 billion to 28.17 billion riyals. It remained 3.1 percent below the 29.08 billion riyals recorded in the same quarter of 2025, so the sequential increase was not annual growth. Gross profit reached 6.43 billion riyals, compared with 5.86 billion riyals a year earlier, even though operating income was lower year on year.[1]
Adjusted and reported profit differ
SABIC reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 4.75 billion riyals, up 40 percent from the preceding quarter. Arab News also noted net debt of 3.03 billion riyals at September’s end, against 2.73 billion at the end of June. The operating measure improved while debt rose modestly; neither alone establishes how much cash the company generated.[2], [1]
For January through September, SABIC narrowed its net loss to 320 million riyals from 4.84 billion riyals a year earlier. Revenue for that nine-month period fell 10.7 percent to 79.13 billion riyals. The quarterly return to profit therefore sits within a longer period that was still loss-making and had lower sales. SABIC attributed some margin improvement to higher selling prices while reporting lower volumes.[1]
