Saudi Arabian Oil Corporation, releasing its annual financial results, announced that its profits were almost halved to $49 Billion in the year 2020.

The state-backed oil giant, Saudi Aramco said it would stick to its promise of paying quarterly dividends of $18.75 billion, $75 billion a year despite the 44% decrease in annual profits due to the commitments made to the shareholders.

Almost the whole of the dividend amount will go to the Saudi Arabian government which owns more than 98% of the share in the company.

President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said Aramco maintained its robust financial position even between the pandemic through its financial and operational agility.

“In one of the most challenging years in recent history, Aramco demonstrated its unique value proposition through its considerable financial and operational agility. As a result, our financial position remained robust,” Nasser said in a statement.

The company produced the equivalent of 9.2 million barrels per day of crude oil over the course of the year, its annual results said. Capital expenditure was down in 2020 to $27 billion compared to $32.8 billion the year before.