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RIYADH: Saudi Aramco reported a net profit of $22.67 billion for the second quarter of 2025, underscoring its operational strength and financial resilience amid ongoing market volatility.

For the first half of the year, net profit reached $48.68 billion, supported by robust cash flows, consistent shareholder payouts and exceptional supply reliability.

The company’s board declared a base dividend of $21.1 billion and a performance-linked dividend of $219 million for the second quarter, both scheduled for payment in the third quarter, according to a press release.

In a statement, Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Aramco, said: “Aramco’s resilience was proven once again in the first half of 2025 with robust profitability, consistent shareholder distributions and disciplined capital allocation.”  

He added: “Despite geopolitical headwinds, we continued to supply energy with exceptional reliability to our customers, both domestically and around the world.” 

While quarterly earnings came in strong, net profit dipped from $26.01 billion in the first quarter and $29.07 billion a year earlier, driven largely by weaker oil prices. The average realized crude oil price fell to $66.7 per barrel in the second quarter, down from $76.3 in the first quarter and $85.7 in the second quarter of 2024.

Adjusted net income — a measure reflecting underlying performance — stood at $24.5 billion for the quarter and $50.9 billion for the first half. Cash flow from operating activities came in at $27.5 billion for the quarter and $59.3 billion for the half-year period, while free cash flow reached $15.2 billion in the second quarter and $34.4 billion over the six-month span. 

Nevertheless, Aramco maintained 100 percent supply reliability and pushed forward with key upstream projects. 

“Market fundamentals remain strong and we anticipate oil demand in the second half of 2025 to be more than two million barrels per day higher than the first half,” Nasser added.  

“Our long-term strategy is consistent with our belief that hydrocarbons will continue to play a vital role in global energy and chemicals markets, and we are ready to play our part in meeting customer demand over the short and the long term.” 

Aramco continued to advance the Berri, Marjan and Zuluf crude oil increments and confirmed that the Jafurah Gas Plant remains on track. Phase one of the Dammam development project was also brought onstream during the period. 

RIYADH: ����ֱ�� led the Gulf region’s primary debt market in the first half of 2025, raising $47.93 billion through 71 bond and sukuk issuances, a new analysis showed. 

According to a report from Kuwait Financial Center, also known as Markaz, the Kingdom accounted for 52.1 percent of the total Gulf Cooperation Council issuances during the period, cementing its position as the region’s dominant fixed income market.

However, the volume marked a 19.8 percent year-on-year decline from $59.73 billion in the first half of 2024. 

Overall, GCC primary debt issuances totaled $92.04 billion during the period, down 5.5 percent from a year earlier.

Affirming the expansion of the region’s debt market, Fitch Ratings noted in December that total outstanding debt in the GCC surpassed the $1 trillion mark. 

Commenting on the latest first half figures, Markaz stated: “As for issuance preferences, the first half saw an increased appetite for conventional issuances in the GCC, representing 56.1 percent of total issuances for the year.” 

It added: “This is a change in issuance preferences from the first half of 2024, where more sukuk were issued than conventional bonds.”

Regional outlook 

����ֱ��’s debt market has expanded rapidly in recent years, as both domestic and international investors seek diversification and stable returns. 

In July, the National Debt Management Center raised SR5.02 billion ($1.34 billion) through a riyal-denominated sukuk issuance, marking a 113.6 percent increase from the previous month. 

Earlier in February, the Kingdom issued €2.25 billion ($2.36 billion) in euro-denominated bonds, including its inaugural green tranche, under its Global Medium-Term Note Issuance Program. 

In December, Kamco Invest projected that ����ֱ�� would lead the region in bond maturities over the next five years, with about $168 billion in Saudi bonds expected to mature between 2025 and 2029 — a reflection of the Kingdom’s growing prominence in regional debt markets. 

Following ����ֱ��, the UAE ranked second with $24.03 billion raised from 69 issuances, accounting for 26.1 percent of total market share. This also represented a 22.2 percent increase over the same period last year. 

Qatar followed with $10 billion from 58 offerings, capturing 10.9 percent of total GCC issuance in the first half. 

Bahrain saw $5.62 billion raised through seven issuances — an increase of 49.7 percent year on year. Kuwaiti issuances climbed 48 percent to $3.39 billion from four deals, while

Oman recorded the region’s lowest total, with $1.08 billion from six issuances. 

Maturity and issue size profile 

According to Markaz, bonds and sukuk with tenors under five years accounted for 46.9 percent of total GCC issuances, amounting to $43.2 billion across 154 deals. 

Issuances with tenors of five to ten years made up 33.8 percent of the market, totaling $31.1 billion from 43 deals. Bonds with maturities between 10 and 30 years comprised 9.6 percent, raising $8.8 billion from five transactions. 

“One issuance came in with a maturity greater than 30 years with a value of $1 billion, while perpetual issuances saw an increase in both the size and number of issuances when compared to the first half of 2024, with a total value of $8 billion through 12 issuances,” added Markaz. 

Issuance sizes ranged from $2 million to $5 billion. The largest share — $54.5 billion, or 59.2 percent of the total — came from 32 deals each valued at $1 billion or more.

Those between $500 million and $1 billion raised $27 billion across 44 offerings. 

The highest number of deals fell in the sub-$100 million category, with 105 transactions collectively raising $3.2 billion. 

Currency profile 

US dollar-denominated instruments dominated the primary market, raising $73.1 billion through 146 issuances — representing 79.4 percent of the total value. 

The Saudi riyal was the second most used currency, with $7 billion raised across eight deals. 

“As for currencies bucketed under “other” which totaled $2 billion, the Hong Kong Dollar represented 0.74 percent of total issuances with a total value of $682 million through 20 issuances,” added Markaz. 

A separate report by Fitch in April said GCC countries accounted for over 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issued in the first quarter of 2025 — excluding China — up from about 25 percent in 2024. 

Issuances by type 

Corporate issuances in the GCC rose sharply by 67.7 percent year on year to reach $60.20 billion in the first half of 2025, accounting for 65.4 percent of total issuances.

Government-related entities contributed $11.2 billion across 11 issuances. 

In its latest report, Markaz noted that conventional issuances rose 7.8 percent year on year to $51.61 billion in the first half. 

In contrast, sukuk issuances declined 18.2 percent over the same period, totaling $40.43 billion. 

The financial sector led issuance activity, raising $40.1 billion from 167 deals — 43.6 percent of the total. Government issuers came next, contributing $31.9 billion from 25 offerings. 

“The energy sector follows, with $8.6 billion through 9 issuances, representing 9.4 percent of total issuances, with the remaining sectors together representing a small portion of total issuance at 12.5 percent,” added Markaz.