DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco reported third-quarter profits of $27.5 billion on Tuesday, down about 15% from last year as low oil prices ate into its revenues.
Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., had revenues of $111.1 billion over the quarter, the company said in a filing on Riyadh's Tadawul stock exchange. It had $113 billion in revenues the same quarter last year.
Profits for the third quarter last year were $32.5 billion.
The profit decrease “was mainly due to the impact of lower crude oil prices and weakening refining margins,” Aramco said.
Profit for the first nine months of 2024 was $83.9 billion, down from $94.5 billion the year before.
Oil prices have been depressed over recent days as tensions in the Middle East appear to have receded slightly and as China's economy has slowed. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at around $75 a barrel.
Aramco will pay dividends of $20.28 billion for the third quarter and a performance-linked dividend of $10.77 billion, the company said. It has said it hopes its overall dividend for the year will be over $124 billion.
While a sliver of Aramco trades on the Tadawul, the vast majority is held by Saudi Arabia’s government, fueling its expenditures and providing wealth to its Al Saud royal family. The company also serves as a bellwether for the global oil industry.
Stock in Aramco traded around $7.31 a share Tuesday, down from a high this year of over $9. It has fallen over the past year as oil prices have dropped.
Aramco has a market value of $1.7 trillion, making it the world’s sixth-most valuable company behind Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Alphabet which owns Google, and Amazon.
Aramco reported a $121 billion annual profit in 2023, down from its 2022 record due to lower energy prices.
Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface of its desert expanse, make it one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hopes to use the oil wealth to pivot the kingdom off oil sales, through projects such as his planned $500 billion futuristic desert city, called Neom. But lower oil prices have Saudi Arabia reportedly looking at curtailing some of those ambitions as the kingdom likely faces looming budget deficits.
Meanwhile, activists criticized the profits amid global concerns about the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change.
FILE - A man walks under a billboard displaying an advertisement for Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco with Arabic reading "Saudi Aramco, soon on stock exchange" in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
THULASENDRAPURAM, India (AP) — The temple reverberated with rhythmic Sanskrit and Tamil hymns, as a Hindu priest held a flame before the god. As this tiny South Indian village gathered to pray for Kamala Harris, a gaggle of reporters jostled for space and camera angles.
There's little to distinguish the village of Thulasendrapuram from any other rural community in Tamil Nadu, except its connection to a woman who could become America's first leader with South Asian roots.
As millions of Americans vote, Harris has people rooting for her from thousands of miles away in a village surrounded by rice paddies and coconut trees, where her mother's family has ancestral ties. They talk about her at the local tea shop. Banners and billboards bearing her face are seen throughout the community.
“Our deity is a very powerful God. If we pray well to him, he will make her victorious,” said M. Natarajan, the temple priest that led the prayers in front of the image of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva.
Harris’ maternal grandfather was born in the village, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, more than 100 years ago. As an adult, he moved to Chennai, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.
Harris has never visited Thulasendrapuram and she has no living relatives in the village, but people here still venerate the family that made it big in the U.S.
“Our village ancestors' granddaughter is running as a U.S. presidential candidate. Her victory will be happy news for every one of us,” Natarajan said.
The village's sudden fame has helped bring money into the village. Recently, construction began on a water storage tank with funds donated by a local bank. Village residents say it will carry a plaque with Harris’ name.
Harris’ late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India. After moving to the U.S. to study, she married a Jamaican man, and they named their daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for “lotus flower.”
Other than trips during her childhood, Harris hasn’t visited India much — particularly not since becoming vice president — but she has often spoken emotionally about her ties to her late mother’s country of birth. On Tuesday, she released a campaign video highlighting her mother, who arrived in the U.S. at age 19 and became a cancer researcher.
Titled “Mother,” the video ends with a narrator saying: “This daughter of Shyamala, this daughter of the American story, is ready to lead us forward.”
Harris has often talked about how she was guided by the values of her Indian-born grandfather and mother. She has also spoken of her love of south Indian food, especially a type of steamed rice cake called idli.
Harris’ name is engraved in a list of donors — her aunt Sarala Gopalan gave money to the temple in her name — along with that of her grandfather. Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land” success in the election.
On Tuesday, the village temple also received rare international visitors: two American tourists and one from the U.K., all wearing black t-shirts that said “Kamala Freakin Harris.”
Manikandan Ganesan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, said Harris’ bid for the presidency has made the village famous. He hopes Harris will eventually visit them.
“Even if she mentioned that she would visit our village, it would make us very happy,” Ganesan said. “Her victory itself will be a big source of happiness for us.”
Village residents also prayed for Harris’ victory in 2020, and set off firecrackers when she became the U.S. Vice President.
For women of the village, the candidate's journey is a source of inspiration.
Local politician Arulmozhi Sudhakar said Harris embodies a significant step toward female empowerment in places like Thulasendrapuram, where a majority of women continue to face discrimination and gender inequality.
“From the time when women were not even allowed to step out of their house, to now a woman from our village contesting in the U.S. presidential election — this brings happiness for us,” Sudhakar said. “The coming generations will see her as a role model to succeed in life.”
Villagers plant paddy in a field in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Manikandan Ganesan, right, a local shopkeeper, packs vegetables for a customer at his grocery store outside Sri Dharmasastha Hindu temple in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
A villager washes clothes at a pond adjacent to Sri Dharmasastha Hindu temple in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
M. Natarajan, head priest of Sri Dharmasastha Hindu temple points out the name of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on a plaque, displaying names of donors written in Tamil language who donated for the renovation of temple, in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
An aerial view of Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Local politician Arulmozhi Sudhakar prepares a Kolam, a traditional art work using colored powder, that reads "Greeting America, our wishes for Kamala Harris' victory" for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Villagers tie a banner featuring Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris outside a temple in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
From left, Fiana Jones of United Kingdom, Devony Evans and Sajron Silalenka of United States wearing tees and cheer for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris outside a temple in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Harris, in Tamil Nadu state, India, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
