Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian petroleum and natural gas company, said on Sunday, 31 October, that its net profits during the third-quarter more than doubled, CNBC reported.
The huge profits (a 160 percent increase in net income) that defied what analysts had predicted were a result of spiking crude oil prices and higher sales.
These were Saudi Aramco's best quarterly earnings since it was officially listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange in December 2019.
Its net income went up to $30.4 billion for the quarter to 30 September from $11.8 billion a year earlier whereas the forecast by analysts predicted a median net profit of $28.4 billion.
In a statement, Amin Nasser, the CEO and president of the company said that their "exceptional third quarter performance was a result of increased economic activity in key markets and a rebound in energy demand, as well as our unique low-cost position."
The company's Twitter handle even tweeted a video with all the profit numbers.
An analyst named Yousef Husseini said that the current trends showed a lot potential for a special dividend (a sum of money paid by a company to its shareholders) by the end of 2021.
It looks "more and more likely now, in my view", Husseini told Reuters.
(With inputs from CNBC and Reuters)
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