SABIC Announces Fourth Quarter Results 2021

SABIC today announced its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 reached SAR 51.28 billion ($ 13.67 billion), an increase of 17% compared with the third quarter of 2021, and a 56% increase year-on-year. SABIC’s EBITDA amounted to SAR 13.05 billion ($ 3.48 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 17%, quarter-over-quarter, and 95% year-on-year. This was primarily due to higher sales volumes and average product prices.

Meanwhile, Income from operations of SAR 8.63 billion ($ 2.30 billion) was 12% higher than the income from operations of SAR 7.70 billion ($ 2.05 billion) in the previous quarter of 2021, and 128% increase compared with the income from operations of SAR 3.79 billion ($ 1.01 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

A net income of SAR 4.93 billion ($ 1.32 billion) was 12% lower than the net income of SAR 5.59 billion ($ 1.49 billion) in the previous quarter compared, and 119% increase compared with the net income of SAR 2.25 billion ($ 0.60 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan, SABIC’s Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “SABIC’s fourth quarter results saw us end the year on a strong note. Those results were driven by our operational performance and higher prices for most of our key products. This led to higher EBITDA during the fourth quarter of 2021.” 

Mr. Al-Benyan added: “Looking back on 2021, our financial performance was strong throughout the year, supported by favorable market conditions, and our focus on capital discipline. Our commitment to sustainability was demonstrated in our roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Alongside our ambitions to tackle climate change, we continued to drive the circular economy and integrate ESG principles into our businesses.”

During the fourth quarter, SABIC continued to focus on value creation from its shared synergies with Saudi Aramco. Between the completion of Saudi Aramco’s share acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC, and the end of 2021, SABIC realized $468 million in value. This reflects the company’s commitment towards achieving between $1.5 - $1.8 billion in value creation by 2025.

The company also completed the transformation process of its agri-nutrients business and launched SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company with a vision to be the national champion and a global leader in the agri-nutrients industry. The focus areas of the new company include a more effective business strategy, fully focused research and development programs, sales and supply chain, and talent attraction and development.

The fourth quarter saw SABIC reach new milestones in sustainability and innovation. The company launched several circular products that were awarded by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) organization. These included SABIC’s circular methanol from our Ibn Sina Saudi plant, the new line of bio-based ULTEM™ resins, a breakthrough polyetherimide (PEI) material, and polymers made out of recovered ocean-bound plastic through chemical recycling.

SABIC’s achievements in sustainability and innovation were widely recognized in the fourth quarter. The company was named the winner of the Best Recycling / Circularity Initiative at the Chemical Week Sustainability Awards 2021, and also received the Platinum Award from Ecovadis – a leader in third party evaluations of business sustainability performance. 

Additionally, SABIC’s Specialties portfolio also claimed two places on a list of the top 100 revolutionary technologies developed last year, in the Mechanical / Materials category of the prestigious R&D 100 Awards.

Another major highlight saw SABIC reinforce its global brand ranking with a 16% increase in brand value, which now stands at US$4.67 billion. The increase, confirmed by independent consultancy Brand Finance, reinforced SABIC’s second place standing on a list of the most valuable brands in the chemical industry, and its position among the top 500 most valuable global brands.