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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reported a 60% drop in net profit for 2024 despite its assets surpassing the $1tn mark. High interest rates, inflation and project impairments have affected its performance.

According to its statement on 30 June, the sovereign wealth fund’s net profit fell to SR25.8bn ($6.9bn), down from SR64.4bn the previous year. The PIF cited impairments linked to revised operational plans and rising project costs.

The drop in profit comes despite an 18% rise in the value of the fund’s assets to $1.15tn in 2024, alongside a 25% revenue increase to $110bn.

As the financial engine behind Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, PIF has committed hundreds of billions of dollars to the kingdom’s flagship gigaprojects, several of which have faced delivery trouble and been scaled back.

The fund’s broader portfolio of assets ranges from agriculture to global conglomerates, and draws income from key holdings such as Saudi Aramco and Saudi National Bank.

PIF’s cash reserves held steady in 2024 at SR316bn, but group loans and borrowings have ticked up slightly to SR570bn – an increasing source of stress for the fund given the higher interest rate environment since mid-2022.