Saudi Aramco recorded a 25% drop in profits in the first quarter, with the Saudi oil company being penalized by falling oil prices, but the most valuable share in the world announced a dividend in line with expectations.

The company will pay a dividend of $ 18.75 billion (€ 17.3 billion) for the first three months of this year, a period in which profits fell 25% to $ 16.6 billion (15, EUR 3 billion).

Saudi Aramco will thus pay more to shareholders than it has obtained in profits, in order to remain in line with the IPO's commitment to pay an annual dividend of US $ 75 billion.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the biggest beneficiary of this generous dividend policy, as it controls 98% of the company's capital. Saudi Aramco, despite having placed only a small part of its capital on the stock exchange, carried out the largest IPO ever at the end of last year.

The dividends from the state oil company could represent strong aid at a time when Saudi Arabia is going through the worst period in its public accounts in several decades.

The fall in profits for the quarter reflects the sharp drop in oil prices, with the company even posting losses at the refining unit.

In the statement with the results presentation, Saudi Aramco maintains the investment target between 20 and 30 billion dollars this year, but says that the amount to be spent next year is under analysis, mainly due to the impact of covid-19.