Sabic reports First Quarterly Consolidated Financial Results

Riyadh, April 22, SPA -- The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation
(SABIC) reported preliminary consolidated financial results for the
quarter that ended March 31, 2009, according to its press release
issued here yesterday.


The net loss for the quarter was SR 974 Million, compared to net
income of SR 6.924 billion in the same period of 2008.


The net loss for the quarter is after a ‘non-cash’ charge related to
the impairment of goodwill amounting to SR 1.181 billion.


The net income before the ‘non-cash’ charge related to impairment of
goodwill was SR 207 Million. The ‘non-cash’ impairment charge does
not have any impact on the cash flows.


The continued decline in prices for most petrochemical products and
metals led to a decline in the profitability during the first quarter
of 2009 compared to the same period last year.


The income from operations for the first quarter of 2009 was SR 380
Million compared to SR 10.891 billion in same period of 2008. The
loss per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 was SR 0.33
compared to earnings per share of SR 2.31 for the same period in
2008.


Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, said: "The financial
and economic crisis that hit the world's major economies, and the
credit crunch have led to difficulties for customers accessing credit
facilities from banks and financial institutions. This has
contributed to the decline in demand for petrochemical products and
metals, in particular engineering plastics, which have been impacted
by the recession in the automotive, construction and electronic
industries. These developments accelerated the pace of decline in the
prices of petrochemical products and metals, adversely impacting the
performance of global companies, including SABIC.


“In spite of the repercussions of the global economic crisis, which
negatively affected the performance of global companies and the
petrochemical industry, resulting in bankruptcies and significant
losses, closure of a large number of plants and staff demobilization,
SABIC has maintained the same operational levels. SABIC’s total
production during the first quarter of 2009 reached 14.17 million
tons, an increase of 0.39 percent, while quantities sold during the
quarter were 11.53 million tons, an increase of 5 percent over the
same period last year. This has significantly contributed to mitigate
the effects of the current economic crisis on SABIC.”


Al-Mady added that SABIC, with its healthy financial position, its
ability to generate strong cash flows, continued efforts to reduce
costs, increased production capacities through current expansions in
YANSAB, SHARQ and SAUDI KAYAN, and future expansion plans, will have
a positive impact on its performance and financial results during the
coming period, and will further strengthen its competitive position
amongst the lowest."

--SPA