Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s biggest petrochemicals firms, said on Thursday its first quarter net profit rose 33 percent from a year earlier on higher prices and volumes.

SABIC’s net profit after the zakat Islamic tax and other taxes was 6.47 billion riyals ($1.72 billion) in the quarter. Quarterly sales totaled 52.64 billion riyals, up 40 percent from a year earlier.

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Those figures beat analysts’ average forecasts for 5.125 billion riyals in net profit and 50.042 billion riyals in revenues, according to Refinitiv data.

“In 2022, SABIC will remain focused on delivering its growth strategy, achieving operational resilience and meeting our ESG
(environmental, social and governance) commitments while at all times maintaining a strong balance sheet,” Yousef Abdullah
al-Benyan, SABIC’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco bought a 70 percent stake in SABIC from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, in June 2020.

SABIC said benefits -- such as synergies -- associated with its ties to Saudi Aramco through March 2022 were worth 2.09 billion riyals, including 334 million riyals in 2022.

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