Energy prices caused the profit margins of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) - the world’s largest petrochemical producer - to decline by 28 percent in 2022. SABIC acting CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the company was optimistic about the quality and reliability of the factories, expecting that the second half of 2023 would witness an improvement in demand for petrochemical products. He stressed at the same time that feedstock prices that fall under energy, put pressure on profit margins. Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday to announce SABIC financial results, Al-Fageeh noted that the company maintained its strong performance over the past year, despite the difficult conditions in the global markets. He added that sales continued to grow over last year by 9 percent, thanks to growth projects, improved plant operation performance, inventory optimization and cooperation with Saudi Aramco. “SABIC 2022 results remain strong despite challenging market conditions. Our sales volumes continue to grow, exceeding the previous year’s sales by 9 percent and driven by growth projects, improved reliability, inventory optimization and synergies with Saudi Aramco,” said Al-Fageeh. In a statement, SABIC announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022, saying that revenues amounted to 42.9 billion riyals ($11.4 billion), a decrease of 8 percent compared to the previous quarter. Net income fell 84 percent to SR290 million. SABIC maintained its leadership in the field of sustainable solutions throughout 2022, leading and collaborating on many milestones in its journey towards carbon neutrality. At the beginning of 2022, the company introduced the BLUEHERO initiative, an expanding ecosystem of materials, solutions, expertise and programs aimed to help accelerate the world’s energy transition to electric power and support meeting global goals on climate change. SABIC partnered with BASF and Linde to build the world’s first pilot plant for large-scale electric-heated steam cracking furnaces.