Baar,27.02.2017

Glencore's net profit rises to $1.4 billion

Things are looking up at Glencore. Last year the company recorded a loss of just under $ 5 billion and shareholders received no dividend. This year, coming up the sixth anniversary of its flotation on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges, CEO Ivan Glasenberg was able to report the commodity-trading company had achieved a net profit of $1.4 billion and an operational profit of $3.9 billion, an increase of 81% over the course of 2016. As for its turnover, this soared to $152 billion, up by 4% on the previous year. Shareholders will be pleased to know that, thanks to the share price rising by 20% over 2016, they can look forward to a dividend amounting to $1 billion, payable in two equal amounts later this year. What is more, the company has managed to reduce its high level of debt, the subject of many negative reports in recent years, by 40% to $15.5 billion. After having to dismiss 20 staff from the company headquarters in Baar last year, too, it now seems as if a crisis which had dogged the company for some time is now over.
 
When Glasenberg, who has joint Swiss-South African nationality, announced the encouraging figures at a video conference on Thursday, accompanied by his head of finance, Steve Kalmin, the 60 year-old said that, since its flotation and the ensuing merger with Xstrata, the company had never been in better shape.
 
Financial analysts agree, too, that the company has done its homework, leading Merrill Lynch to conclude Glencore was in a healthy state. What has been of great benefit to the company has been the huge increase in the price of coal, not to mention those of zinc, copper and iron-ore, too, crude oil only rising sluggishly.
 
It is thought that, as a result of these positive results, the company will be on the look-out for more acquisitions, too.
 
The second photograph shows an opencast mine operated by Glencore in New South Wales, Australia.