Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh said this week that global overcapacity in the petrochemicals industry had put pressure on profit margins, leading to reduced operating rates.

Al-Fageeh’s comments were made following a reveal of the company’s financial results for Q3 2025, which showed that market conditions had been challenging. Nonetheless, according to the CEO, SABIC remains committed to achieving its strategic priorities for 2025 – with an adjusted EBITDA of SAR 4.99bn ($1.33bn) showing operating resilience, Argaam notes.

Al-Fageeh continued to highlight that SABIC was making headway towards completing strategic growth projects, with mechanical work for the Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) project having been completed, allowing it to begin operations sooner than expected.

SABIC has also seen some success abroad, with its Fujian project having reached 87% completion in construction and engineering procurement works.

“In light of these developments, SABIC remains confident in its ability to navigate market volatility and enhance long-term shareholder value,” Al-Fageeh concluded.

Argaam data shows that SABIC suffered a loss of SAR 4.8bn ($1.28bn) in the first nine months of 2025, having previously made profits of SAR 3.4bn ($907mn) at the same time last year. For Q3 2025, SABIC has only been able to make SAR 440mn ($117.3mn).

The company’s recent profit struggles have been a trend this year, with the company’s  EVP for corporate finance Salah al-Hareky highlighting in August that the company faced “urgent pressure” to minimise costs following the closure of its UK olefins plant in June – as well as ongoing challenges in petrochemicals markets, according to S&P Global.

The comments were made in a press conference after reporting Q2 earnings on August 3, with al-Hareky noting: “Certainly, there is an urgent pressure to lower costs amid the challenges of the petrochemicals market.”

According to SABIC, the closure of its Teeside cracker in the UK left it with $1bn in charges and provisions – with the decision to close the plant being made “in line with the company portfolio review to reduce cost and improve profitability,” according to comments made in an earnings statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

According to S&P Global, SABIC CEO Abdulrahman al-Fageeh expressed that there would be no additional closures in the near term when quizzed about the company’s reshuffle of its European asset portfolio.