Saudi Aramco profits up 90% on high oil prices

Big profits at Saudi Aramco have resulted from the soaring oil prices.

The Saudi state oil company reported a 90 percent increase in second-quarter profit on Sunday, beating analyst expectations.

Earnings went up with volume sold and refining margins, as well as higher oil prices.

Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said in the earnings report that the company expects oil demand to grow for the rest of the decade despite downward economic pressures on short-term global forecasts.

Aramco's net profit for the quarter rose to $48.39 billion, topping expectations of $46.2 billion, according to the mean estimate from 15 analysts.

A dividend of $18.8 billion was declared in the quarter, which will be paid in the third quarter.

Aramco is one of several oil majors that have reported strong results in the past few weeks.

On July 29, Exxon Mobil Corp posted its biggest quarterly profit, a net income of $17.9 billion.

Aramco shares have gone up over 25% this year as oil and natural gas prices have gone up multi-year highs after Western sanctions against major exporter Russia squeezed an already under-supplied global market.