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Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Major Export Companies

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Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Five of Saudi Arabia’s largest companies are financial institutions that support international trade transactions. The sole Middle Eastern country with coasts on both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia is also home to a pair of diversified chemicals producers.

To give some global trade perspective on recent Saudi company performance, the overall value of Saudi exported goods fell by -13.9% from US$341.9 billion in 2014 to $294.5 billion during 2018. Year over year, Saudi Arabia’s exports appreciated by 33.8% from 2017 to 2018.

In the analysis below, we compare Saudi Arabia’s major exports-oriented companies based on asset values, sales and profitability as of December 2018. Also presented is the Saudi city where each business has its headquarters.

Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Major Export Companies

Assets

Below are Saudi Arabia’s biggest exports-related companies organized by asset value. Shown within parentheses is the primary industry in which each company operates. Also shown is the change in asset value as of December 2018 compared to 2017.

  1. National Commercial Bank (regional bank): US$116.7 billion, down -0.8% from 2017
  2. Al Rajhi Bank (regional bank): $93.1 billion, up 2.8%
  3. Saudi Basic Industries (diversified chemicals): $90.5 billion, up 7.2%
  4. Samba Financial Group (regional bank): $61 billion, down -1.1%
  5. Riyad Bank (regional bank): $57.7 billion, down -0.5%
  6. Saudi British Bank (regional bank): $48.7 billion, down -1.8%
  7. Saudi Telecom (telecommunications services): $30.7 billion, up 13.4%
  8. Saudi Arabian Mining (diversified metals, mining): $25.3 billion, down -2.2%
  9. Petro Rabigh (diversified chemicals): $16.4 billion, up 5.9%
  10. Almarai (food processing): $8.5 billion, up 9.8%

Five of these large Saudi businesses expanded their asset values from 2017 to December 2018, led by Saudi Telecom’s 13.4% gain.

Asset deteriorations ranged from a -0.5% dip for Riyad Bank up to a -2.2% reduction for Saudi Arabian Mining.

Sales

Sales is the life blood of most businesses, and particularly for firms that compete in international trade. The fastest-growing Saudi company was Petro Rabigh thanks to its 49.3% sales improvement year over year.

  1. Saudi Basic Industries: US$41.9 billion, up 18.3% from 2017
  2. Saudi Telecom: $13.6 billion, down -1.6%
  3. Petro Rabigh: $10 billion, up 49.3%
  4. National Commercial Bank: $6 billion, down -2.3%
  5. Al Rajhi Bank: $4.5 billion, down -0.2%
  6. Almarai: $3.7 billion, down -5.6%
  7. Saudi Arabian Mining: $3.4 billion, up 34.4%
  8. Riyad Bank: $2.6 billion, up 0.4%
  9. Samba Financial Group: $2.3 billion, down -5%
  10. Saudi British Bank: $2 billion, down -8.7%

For six of these major exports-related firms, sales slowdowns ranged from a -0.2% dip for Al Rajhi Bank up to a -8.7% decrease for another financial institution, Saudi British Bank.

Profit

All 10 of these top Saudi firms were profitable as of December 2018. In fact, nine grew their profits led by Saudi Arabian Mining’s triple-digit gain.

  1. Saudi Basic Industries: US$5 billion, up 5% from 2017
  2. National Commercial Bank: $2.7 billion, up 8.9%
  3. Saudi Telecom: $2.7 billion, up 18.9%
  4. Al Rajhi Bank: $2.5 billion, up 15.2%
  5. Samba Financial Group: $1.4 billion, up 5.3%
  6. Saudi British Bank: $1.1 billion, up 5.8%
  7. Riyad Bank: $1.1 billion, up 23.4%
  8. Almarai: $568 million, up 5.7%
  9. Petro Rabigh: $379 million, down -96.1%
  10. Saudi Arabian Mining: $302 million, up 182.8%

The sole decline was a -96.1% profit decrease for diversified chemicals supplier Petro Rabigh.

Headquarters

Eight of Saudi Arabia’s top 10 major export companies have their headquarters in Riyadh, the capital and largest city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  1. Al Rajhi Bank: Riyadh
  2. Almarai: Riyadh
  3. National Commercial Bank: Jeddah
  4. Petro Rabigh: Rabigh
  5. Riyad Bank: Riyadh
  6. Samba Financial Group: Riyadh
  7. Saudi Arabian Mining: Riyadh
  8. Saudi Basic Industries: Riyadh
  9. Saudi British Bank: Riyadh
  10. Saudi Telecom: Riyadh




 

Note: Some of the above company offerings may include products beyond the principal category shown within parenthesis under the Assets tab.

For example, Saudi Basic Industries not only manufactures chemicals including petrochemicals, but also makes and sells plastics, agri-nutrients, metals, resins, specialty film and sheet. The firm also produces polymershapes, glazing solutions and specialty additives and intermediates.

See also Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Exports, Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Imports and Crude Oil Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Data.World Forbes Global 2000 2016 , Spreadsheet for 2016 Global 2000 rankings. Accessed on October 16, 2019

Forbes Global 2000 individual company profiles, Example of top Saudi company compiled for this study: Saudi Basic Industries. Accessed on October 16, 2019

Forbes Global 2000 rankings for Saudi Arabia, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 16, 2019

Global Research Investment Update Samba Financial Group (SAMBA). Accessed on October 16, 2019

Independent Auditors’ Report, Consolidated Financial Statements of Riyad Bank. Accessed on October 16, 2019

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 16, 2019

The National Commercial Bank, Annual Report 2016. Accessed on October 16, 2019

The Saudi British Bank, Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ending December 2015. Accessed on October 16, 2019

Wikipedia, Al-Rajhi Bank. Accessed on October 16, 2019

Wikipedia, Category: Companies of Saudi Arabia. Accessed on October 16, 2019

Wikipedia, List of companies of Saudi Arabia. Accessed on October 16, 2019