據路透社3月21日迪拜報道，沙特阿拉伯國有石油巨頭沙特阿美（Aramco）周日公布2020年凈利潤大幅下滑，并縮減支出計劃，該公司押寶亞洲將帶動今年能源需求反彈。

2020年，新冠疫情對該公司及其全球同行造成了沉重打擊，但隨著經濟從去年的低迷中復蘇，以及石油生產商延長減產，今年油價出現反彈。

沙特阿美首席執行官阿明?納賽爾（Amin Nasser）在財報電話會議上表示:“我們很高興看到復蘇的跡象。中國目前的需求已十分接近疫情前的水平。所以在亞洲，尤其是東亞，需求強勁回升。”

他表示，歐洲和美國的需求將隨著更多疫苗的部署而改善。他認為，到今年年底，全球石油需求預計將達到9900萬桶/日。

沙特阿美向沙特證券交易所Tadawul透露，公司將2021年的資本支出指導值從400億美元至450億美元下調至350億美元左右。2020年的資本支出為270億美元。

這家全球最大的石油出口國表示，截至去年12月31日的財年，其凈利潤下降44.4%至1837.6億里亞爾(合490億美元)，上年同期為3306.9億里亞爾。

根據Refinitiv旗下Eikon分析師的平均預期，分析師此前預計2020年凈利潤為1861億里亞爾。

沙特阿美宣布，2020年派發股息為750億美元，但納賽爾表示，今年不打算在承諾的基礎上增加股息。

Tellimer股票研究主管哈斯南?馬利克(Hasnain Malik)表示：“股息符合預期，這是沙特阿美股東最關心的，但較低的資本支出意味著該公司預計高油價不會長期持續。”

沙特阿美公布財報后股價小幅下跌0.6%。

去年大部分時間，沙特阿美的股價相對于新興和發達市場的全球石油公司表現良好，但當油價回升時，該公司的表現遜于同行。

裘寅 編譯自 路透社

原文如下：

Saudi oil giant Aramco to scale back spending after 2020 profit slump

Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco is betting on an Asian-led rebound in energy demand this year after it reported a steep slide in net profit for 2020 on Sunday and scaled back its spending plans.

The COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on the company and its global peers in 2020, but oil prices have rallied this year as economies recover from last year’s downturn and after oil producers extended output cuts.

“We are pleased that there are signs of a recovery,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told an earnings call.

“China is also very close to pre-pandemic levels. So in Asia, East Asia in particular, there is strong pickup in demand.”

He said demand in Europe and United States would improve with more deployment of vaccines. Global oil demand is expected to reach 99 million barrels per day by the end of this year, he said.

Aramco lowered its guidance for capital expenditure in 2021 to around $35 billion from a range of $40 billion to $45 billion previously, according to a disclosure to the kingdom’s Tadawul bourse. Capital spending in 2020 was $27 billion.

The world’s largest oil exporter said net profit fell 44.4% to 183.76 billion riyals ($49 billion) for the year ended Dec. 31, from 330.69 billion riyals a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a 2020 net profit of 186.1 billion riyals, according to the mean estimate of analysts in Refinitiv’s Eikon.

Aramco declared a dividend of $75 billion for 2020, but Nasser said there was no intention to increase the dividend this year from what’s been pledged.

“The dividend is in line with expectations, which is what holders of Aramco will care about most, but lower capex implies the company does not expect high oil prices to last for the long-term,” said Hasnain Malik, head of equity research at Tellimer.

Aramco’s shares were marginally down 0.6% after its results.

Through most of last year, Aramco’s shares held up well against global oil companies in emerging and developed markets, but underperformed against the company’s peers when oil prices recovered.