Petro Rabigh posts 2.576 billion riyals in third-quarter profit after annual loss
Key Facts
Petro Rabigh returned to profit in the third quarter of 2026, posting net income attributable to shareholders of 2.576 billion riyals, compared with a loss of 1.236 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, according to Argaam data. Chief Financial Officer Fahad Al-Mohaisen said the quarter’s profit was the second-highest quarterly profit in the company’s history. The turnaround coincided with revenue rising to 16.815 billion riyals from 9.195 billion riyals a year earlier, an annual increase of 82.9%. Petro Rabigh, majority-owned by Saudi Aramco, is one of the kingdom’s refining and petrochemicals companies. The year-on-year comparison reflects an improvement in profitability and revenue alongside better operating conditions and product margins.
The company attributed the annual improvement in profit to higher refined-product margins, improved market conditions and global supply-and-demand imbalances, as well as higher sales volumes as plant operating rates improved. Lower financing costs also supported the result, MEED reported, citing the company. Al-Mohaisen said demand for the company’s products remained healthy during the quarter, sales volumes improved in several markets and prices for some products rose. The company said better margins and higher sales, alongside increased plant operating rates, supported the shift from a loss in the comparative period to a profit. Part of the widening year-on-year comparison was linked to a weak base in 2025, when production and sales were affected by scheduled maintenance that covered operating facilities and production units across the complex.
Maintenance during the comparative period in 2025 lasted about 60 days, reducing production and sales at the time. Compared with the previous quarter, the company said geopolitical disruptions led to lower sales volumes, contributing to declines in revenue and profit. Improved refined-product margins partly offset that impact, according to Argaam. This puts the quarterly result in a different context from the annual comparison: profit exceeded the prior year’s loss, but the quarter-on-quarter comparison was affected by lower sales volumes. Al-Mohaisen said the company’s total debt had fallen from more than 30 billion riyals in mid-2024 to about 14 billion riyals in October 2026.
Al-Mohaisen said the company aims in the fourth quarter to consolidate the improvement recorded during the year and turn it into sustainable performance. He added that global markets remain affected by oil prices, global demand, supply-and-demand dynamics and geopolitical developments. These factors link the market conditions that supported margins and sales in the third quarter with the challenges the company is monitoring in the following period. The fourth-quarter goal follows what the CFO described as the second-highest quarterly profit in the company’s history. The statement did not set a date beyond the fourth quarter for assessing whether the improvement will continue.