RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Oil giant Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported a drop of 4.6 in its first-quarter net profits as lower sales and higher operating costs hit the lynchpin of the kingdom's ambitious economic reform plans.

Profits fell due to "lower revenue and other income related to sales as well as higher operating costs," read a statement published by the Saudi stock exchange.

"Global trade dynamics affected energy markets in the first quarter of 2025, with economic uncertainty impacting oil prices," said Aramco president Amin H. Nasser in a separate statement.

Net income for the first quarter of the year was 97.54 billion riyal ($26.01 billion), compared to 102.27 billion riyal ($27.27 billion) for the same period in 2024.

Oil prices have suffered steep declines in recent weeks over concerns that US President Donald Trump's tariffs will hit demand hard and stifle international trade.

The Saudi government currently owns 81.5 percent of Aramco's shares and relies on its revenues to finance the "Vision 2030" projects launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia, eyeing a post-oil future, is in the midst of a lavish spending plan aimed at attracting tourists and investment to the Middle East's biggest economy.

Chief among an array of flashy projects are NEOM, a $500 billion futuristic new city in the desert, the 2034 football World Cup and a major new airport for Riyadh.

Aramco reported record profits in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring, allowing Saudi Arabia to record its first budget surplus in nearly a decade.

But the Saudi cash cow has seen its profits drop in recent years with a slide in oil prices.

The Saudi Ministry of Finance in September said it expects a budget deficit of 2.3 percent of GDP in 2025, with the deficit continuing until 2027.