Al-Benyan Announces Q1 Results: SABIC Is Resilient Enough to Deal With All Challenges

Yousef Al-Benyan, SABIC Vice-Chairman and CEO, said on Tuesday that high profits in the first quarter were the result of measures taken by SABIC, and performance in American and Chinese markets was excellent.

Speaking in a press conference at SABIC headquarters in Riyadh, one day after the release of the first-quarter results, Al-Benyan said that the restructuring, launched in 2015 and completed last year, has strengthened the company's position in the market by reducing operational and administrative costs.

'The impact has been evident in the company's first-quarter results, and we will continue to capitalize on the outcome of this restructuring to further strengthen our strong position,' Al-Benyan said, adding that SABIC's ability to deal with changes in inflation contributed to high profits in this period.

On Monday, May 1, SABIC announced outstanding results for the first quarter of 2017. Profits reached 5.24 billion Saudi riyals compared to 2.91 billion riyals in the same quarter last year, an increase of more than 80 percent. Profits increased by 51.44 percent from the previous quarter, when they were 3.46 billion riyals.

Al-Benyan said that SABIC achieved these results despite the major challenges faced by global markets. He added that emerging markets are supporting global growth, and developed markets, such as China, the United States and Europe, will play an important role driving global growth in the next quarter.

China has played a major role in SABIC's high profits in the first quarter of this year, he said. 'The Chinese market was very positive in the first quarter with growth reaching over 6.5 percent, and SABIC's sales grew by 3 percent in this market compared to the same period last year.'

Al-Benyan pointed to noticeable developments in the US, which has rising demand that reflects positively on the performance of the petrochemical industry in general.

Fluctuations in world oil prices have affected Africa and the Middle East, but SABIC continues to look for opportunities to expand business in these markets in line with its 2025 strategy, through which it aims to become one of the world's top three global petrochemical companies, he said.

Commenting on the company's first-quarter performance, Al-Benyan said SABIC's focus on safety and security - an integral part of its strategy - is critical to maintaining the safety of employees and communities.

To support Saudi Vision 2030, SABIC established the 'Local Content Development' unit, he said. 'More efforts are being made in this area, and SABIC continues to take practical steps to support the implementation of the Saudi Vison 2030.'

Al-Benyan said that research and development had a significant impact on improving the company's first-quarter performance in certain products. SABIC introduced 850 innovative solutions in 2016, which helped the company to increase the value of some products in the market.

Al-Benyan said that SABIC successfully allocated feedstock to important business sectors for a better competitive position. He attributed this to the effective restructuring process, which sped up decision-making and increased agility when responding to market and industry requirements.

'SABIC has the resilience to deal with all challenges, not just those related to feedstock and pricing, but also related to technology and innovation,' said Al-Benyan.

'SABIC's strength lies in its human resources: these are the key to our success.'