RIYADH, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) (2010.SE) , opens new tab, one of the world's biggest petrochemicals companies, on Monday swung to a net profit for the third quarter from a loss a year earlier, driven by higher revenue and core profit.

The company said in a statement its net profit for the three-month period ended Sept. 30 came in at 1 billion riyals ($266.27 million), against a loss of 2.87 billion riyals last year.

The third-quarter profit, however, missed analyst expectations of 1.6 billion riyals, according to LSEG data.

Net income in the reported period fell to 1 billion riyal ($266.27 million) from the previous quarter's 2.18 billion riyals.

Petrochemical producers in Europe and Asia in recent years have been impacted by top market China's capacity build-up as well as high energy costs in Europe, which dented margins and forced firms to consolidate.

The sector's weakness is concerning for the global oil industry, which is relying on petrochemicals to maintain profits as transportation fuel demand declines during the energy transition.

SABIC, which is 70% owned by oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) , opens new tab, flagged in August its long-term focus would remained on "strategic portfolio optimisation" and restructuring underperforming assets.

SABIC plans to sell a 20.6% minority stake in Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) (ALBH.BH) , opens new tab to Saudi mining firm Ma'aden for around $1 billion to help raise funds and expand its core chemicals business.

($1 = 3.7556 riyals)

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/petrochemicals-firm-sabic-swings-profit-q3-misses-analysts-forecasts-2024-11-04/