Sabic slumps to lowest quarterly net in a decade

On hold: Attendees walk past Sabic pavilion at an economic forum in St Petersburg, Russia. The petrochemicals maker has suspended talks with Clariant AG on their high-performance plastics venture. — Bloomberg

DUBAI: Saudi Basic Industries Corp. posted its lowest quarterly profit in at least a decade as the chemical maker took an impairment charge and cheaper oil put pressure on its product prices.

Net income slumped 86% from the previous year to 830 million riyals ($221 million), while sales fell 23% for the same period to 33.7 billion riyals, the company known as Sabic said. Sabic took a 1.5 billion riyal impairment charge on its 25% holding in Swiss chemical manufacturer Clariant AG, it said in a statement.