Sabic slumps to lowest quarterly net in a decade

Bloomberg

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) posted its lowest quarterly profit in at least a decade as the chemical maker took an impairment charge and cheaper oil put pressure on its product prices.
Net income slumped 86% from the previous year to 830 million riyals, while sales fell 23% for the same period to 33.7 billion riyals, the company known as Sabic said. Sabic took a 1.5 billion riyal impairment charge on its 25% holding in Swiss chemical manufacturer Clariant AG, it said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia expects chemical makers like Sabic to form the basis for new industries in manufacturing and consumer goods and hopes they will provide jobs and reduce the economy’s reliance on oil exports. State oil giant Saudi Aramco is buying Sabic to become one of the world’s biggest refiners and chemical producers. Oil prices, which dropped about 9% in the quarter, are hindering Saudi growth.
With economic growth projected to be lower this year than last, Sabic expects that the challenges to earnings in the third quarter will persist for the rest of the year. The company continued to review the value of all its assets as part of its annual planning.