DUBAI: Saudi oil giant Aramco’s base oil subsidiary Luberef said on Thursday its net income rose by nearly half in the first quarter despite a drop in revenue, mainly due to lower feedstock prices resulting in higher crack margins.

Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company, known as Luberef, posted net income of 446 million riyals ($118.92 million) for the first quarter, up from 303 million riyals a year earlier, it said in a statement.

The company, which listed 30% of its shares in an IPO in December, reported revenue of nearly 1.8 billion riyals, down about a third from the first quarter of 2022.

The higher profit was “mainly driven by an increase in base oil prices of 6% and a reduction in feedstock prices by 46% compared to (the) same quarter last year,” Luberef said.

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“This positive increase (was) offset partially by a reduction in sales volume by 14% compared to (the) same quarter last year,” it added. Luberef’s shares were down 0.7% at 0748 GMT at 114.4 riyals.

They are trading above the IPO price of 99 riyals a share.