The second year of the coronavirus epidemic saw oil prices rebound, according to the Forbes Global 2000, making Saudi Aramco once again the most profitable firm in the world. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fossil fuel prices have since increased even more, which means that oil and gas businesses worldwide will likely be even more wealthy in 2022.
Before coming public in late 2019, Saudi Aramco was already hailed as the most successful firm in the world, surpassing Apple as the top-performing company.
According to Reuters, the Saudi Arabian oil behemoth Aramco posted full-year results that more than doubled year over year net profit to $110 billion.
As a result of higher crude oil prices, greater refining and chemicals margins, and the consolidation of its chemicals sector, SABIC's full-year results, Aramco's 2021 net income jumped by 124% to $110 billion from $49 billion in 2020.
The figures were in line with predictions; according to Reuters's survey of analysts, net income for the entire year was expected to be $109.7 billion. Following the outcome, Aramco stock on the Saudi Tadawul Exchange increased by about 4% on Sunday.
Aramco benefited from higher oil prices in 2021, with benchmark Brent crude reaching over $80 per barrel by year's conclusion, an increase of around 50% over the previous 12 months. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, a complex web of circumstances, including supply shortages, contributed to a great deal of uncertainty in the energy and commodity markets.
Aramco also announced a $18.8 billion fourth-quarter dividend that would be paid out in the first quarter of 2022. The increase in free cash flow from $49.1 billion in 2020 to $107.5 billion in 2021 will pay for the dividend.
The business also said that it would make investments to raise the capacity of its crude oil production to 13 million barrels per day by 2027, boost its production of liquid chemicals, and aim to more than double gas output by 2030.
Aramco has also stated that it hopes to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across all of its wholly-owned operating assets by the year 2050. Scope 2 relates to indirect emissions from the production of purchased power that the firm consumes, whereas Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from sources the company owns or controls.
Apple, which came in first place ahead of Microsoft in the rankings in 2020, gained greatly from people working and interacting online during the early stages of the pandemic. Apple and Microsoft were demoted to the second and fifth positions, respectively, for the current 2021 rating.
Even if a violent market selloff destroys trillions in market worth, Apple continues to rule.
For the eighth consecutive year, Apple has led the technology sector, in part due to record sales of $378.7 billion, up over 29% from the previous year. CEO Tim Cook attributed the record-breaking year, despite continuing chip shortages and other supply chain issues, to pent-up demand for gadgets.
With a market capitalization of $2.6 trillion (up 13% when the Global 2000 was calculated on April 22), the illustrious iPhone manufacturer is still the most valuable corporation in the world, but it is no longer the most profitable. Despite $100.6 billion in record profits, Saudi Aramco, whose earnings more than doubled as a result of rising oil prices, outperformed the Silicon Valley company. The overall ranking now has Apple at No. 6, down one position.
Source: Forbes.com, Statista.com, CNBC.com, Reuters.com
