SABIC keen to provide strong, competitive dividends: CEO

The petrochemical industry was negatively impacted in 2019 by additional new supply in key products coming on-stream, coupled with a moderation in global growth compared to 2018, said Yousef Al-Benyan, Vice Chairman and CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC).

“However, our strong focus on cost controls and safe and reliable operations mitigated some of these negative factors in 2019. This is evident by the reduction in our selling, general and adminitrative expenses (SG&A) by 5% in 2019 compared to 2018,” Al-Benyan added in a statement to Tadawul, commenting on the company’s Q4 figures.

SABIC is keen on providing strong and competitive dividends reliably to its shareholders. Despite a profit drop in H2 2019, SABIC’s board of directors announced a cash dividend of SAR 2.2 per share for the second half of 2019, as was the case in H1.

SABIC’s dividend distribution will continue to be supported by a disciplined approach to capital allocation and by sustaining a strong balance sheet, he noted.

“Sustainability and innovation remain critical success factors. They have been key drivers for the continued growth of our brand value which increased by 9.3% to US$ 4.33 billion in the last year, according to the independent brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance,” Al-Benyan concluded.

SABIC incurred net losses of SAR 720 million in Q4 2019, against net profit of SAR 3.2 billion a year earlier