Saudi Arabia's largest petrochemicals maker returned to profit growth in Q3, as higher chemical prices offset shipping disruptions that forced it to reroute exports through the Kingdom's Red Sea ports.
SABIC earned 500 million Riyals ($133 million), up 16% from a year earlier, while revenue fell 3% to 28 billion Riyals, pointing to wider profit margins.
Behind the numbers
Higher chemical prices lifted profit, but shipping disruptions limited deliveries and cut sales volumes.
That pushed revenue lower despite stronger prices.
The workaround
SABIC is moving more chemicals from eastern Saudi Arabia overland to Red Sea ports to bypass Hormuz.
The company exported nearly 1,500 containers through Yanbu in September, while the volume of polymers transported across the Kingdom more than doubled by the end of Q2.
The global picture
Chemical producers outside the Gulf have been better placed to capitalise on the supply shortage, raising output and selling at higher prices as Middle Eastern shipments were disrupted.
Britain's INEOS reported an 87% jump in Q3 underlying operating earnings, including a 154% surge in its European chemicals business.
US-based LyondellBasell's Q2 net profit more than quadrupled from a year earlier after it raised production to meet demand left unmet by Gulf suppliers.
Year to date
Despite the Q3 rebound, SABIC remains in the red for 2026, with a nine-month loss of 320 million Riyals, compared with 4.8 billion Riyals a year earlier. Revenue fell 11% to 79 billion Riyals.
The smaller loss largely reflects the absence of last year's heavy charges, including costs linked to closing its Teesside gas processing plant in the UK, alongside a recovery in the value of European investments.
The big shift
Under CEO Faisal Al Faqeer, appointed in April, SABIC is pressing ahead with a restructuring aimed at cutting losses and improving profitability.
The company completed the sale of its operations in Europe and the Americas and is expanding methanol and fertiliser capacity at home.
Its cost-cutting programme has already delivered 3.5 billion Riyals in annual savings and earnings improvements, toward a target of 11 billion Riyals by 2030.
Looking ahead
SABIC has cut planned capital spending by around 16%.
Al Faqeer said the company would focus on efficiency, sell businesses that no longer fit its strategy and invest selectively, including in methanol and fertiliser production in Saudi Arabia.
