Accomplishing the highest standalone credit rating in the chemical industry boosts the enterprise’s efforts in dealing with the cyclical nature of the business
SABIC sturdy its strategic funding to meet prevailing marketplace challenges, specifically overcapacity and pricing pressures in main regions in 2024. The enterprise focused during 2024 on handling its business portfolio and ensuring the performance of capital allocation, Khalid Al-Dabbagh, Chairman, SABIC, stated at its Ordinary Annual General Meeting in Riyadh on April 9. He further reaffirmed the enterprise’s commitment to keeping its competitive benefits.
Al-Dabbagh stressed that SABIC will hold to pursue sustainable growth to maximize shareholder cost, with strong balance sheet, disciplined governance, and sturdy portfolio management method. He mentioned that accomplishing the highest standalone credit rating within the chemical industry increase the enterprise’s efforts in dealing with the cyclical nature of the business at the same time as maintaining capital discipline. He also touched on the enterprise’s efforts to further build consumer confidence and help of their success. He mentioned the strength of the SABIC brand, maintaining its position as the second most valuable brand within the chemical industry with an increased brand value of US$ 4.9 billion.
Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC CEO, spoke about SABIC’s success in attaining profitability because of its carefully planned strategies, despite the significant challenges confronted by the global chemical region in 2024, which include geopolitical uncertainties, changing customer needs, and sustainability and decarbonization regulations.
Al-Fageeh emphasized the enterprise’s financial overall performance during 2024, inclusive of revenues of SAR a 140.0 billion (US$ 37.3 billion), EBIDTA of SAR 19.5 billion (US$ 5.2 billion), further to the value because of synergies with Saudi Aramco of a additive value of SAR 9.66 billion (US$ 2.57 billion) considering that Saudi Aramco received 70% of SABIC shares in June 2020. Of this amount, SAR 3.04 billion (US$ 0.81 billion) was in 2024 alone.
The CEO also emphasized the sale of some non-core assets, which include Hadeed and the Functional Forms business, specialized in manufacturing plastic sheets and films, in addition to the completion of the sale of SABIC’s stake in Aluminum Bahrain (Alba). These strategic moves suggested the enterprise optimize capital reallocation, improve capital efficiency, and increase long-term value creation.
Al-Fageeh addressed the plans for 2025 and beyond. They include bridging emerging and evolved markets, that specialize in resilience, leadership, and transformation, and laying emphasis on economic diversification and sustainable growth to develop the chemical sector as aligned with Saudi Vision 2030. He emphasized that consider and joint cooperation is what drives SABIC’s success towards fulfilling its vision to be the favored world leader in chemicals.
