Forget Apple or Exxon, Saudi Aramco was the most profitable company in 2018

The credit rating, a first for Aramco, offers the first glimpse into the accounts of the company, which have remained secret since its nationalization in the late 1970s

The first official glimpse of Saudi Aramco’s financial performance confirms the state-run oil giant can generate profit like no other company on Earth: net income last year was $111.1 billion, easily outstripping US behemoths, including Apple Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp.
 
But accounts published before the firm’s debut in the international bond market also show Aramco —  an organisation that produces about 10 per cent of the world’s crude — doesn’t generate as much cash per barrel as other leading oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell Plc because of a heavy tax burden.
 

The bond sale,