Sabic returns to profit in third quarter as revenue rises despite regional conflict

Show caption: Sabic headquarters in Riyadh. Sabic has a major presence in …

Company, 70 per cent owned by Saudi Aramco, reports 14 per cent revenue growth

• Saudi Basic Industries Corporation returned to profitability in the third quarter of 2026, posting a net profit of $133 million after a loss in the previous quarter.
• Revenue rose 14 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 28.17 billion riyals, though it remained approximately 3 per cent below the prior year's level.
• The petrochemicals giant completed the sale of its engineering thermoplastics business in the Americas and Europe for $450 million, streamlining operations.
• Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure, including damage to majority shareholder Aramco's Dhahran headquarters, have raised fresh security concerns.
• Sabic "demonstrated exceptional resilience, despite geopolitical developments and market headwinds," said chief executive Faisal M Alfaqeer, reaffirming the company's long-term profitability focus.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company, returned to profitability in the third quarter as revenue increased and its operating performance improved despite challenging market conditions.

Net profit attributable to shareholders of the company reached 500 million Saudi riyals ($133 million) in the three months to the end of September, up 16.3 per cent from the same period last year, Sabic said in a bourse filing on Sunday.

The company swung to profit in the July to September period after reporting a net loss of 833 million riyals in the second quarter this year due to the regional conflict.

Revenue in the third quarter rose 14 per cent on a quarterly basis to 28.17 billion riyal, although it remained about 3 per cent below the year-earlier level.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) increased 40 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 4.75 billion riyals, while adjusted net income reached 840 million riyals, reversing a loss of 380 million riyals in the second quarter.

“In 3Q 2026, Sabic demonstrated exceptional resilience, despite geopolitical developments and market headwinds, coupled with a clear and robust forward-looking vision and continued focus on strategic objectives, namely portfolio optimisation, transformation and selective growth, in efforts to support the company’s long-term profitability and value creation for shareholders, building on its historic journey of more than five decades,” said Sabic chief executive Faisal M Alfaqeer.

Sabic’s results come against a backdrop of heightened security risks for Saudi Arabia’s energy industry, with the kingdom’s oil and petrochemicals infrastructure facing repeated missile and drone attacks amid the widening regional conflict.

Sabic has a major presence in Dhahran, primarily centered around its advanced research and innovation ecosystems.

Earlier this month, a Houthi missile attack damaged Saudi Aramco’s headquarters complex in Dhahran. The attack sparked a fire in an administrative building in Aramco’s complex. Aramco owns 70 per cent stake in Sabic. The developments have raised fresh concerns about the security of Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure as the Iran war continues to disrupt regional energy markets.

For the first nine months of 2026, Sabic narrowed its net loss to 320 million riyals, from 4.84 billion riyals in the same period last year, although revenue declined nearly 11 per cent to 79.13 billion riyals.

Sabic said it completed the sale of its engineering thermoplastics business in the Americas and Europe for an enterprise value of $450 million during the third quarter, as part of efforts to streamline its operations and improve long-term profitability. It also said its transformation programme had generated 3.56 billion riyals in recurring Ebitda benefits towards its 2030 target of 11.3 billion riyals.

Updated:

October 25, 2026, 8:53 AM