Trafigura Reports Record 1H2021 Profits of $2.1bn

SIngapore/Swiss commodity major Trafigura reported record net profits of $2.1bn for 1H2021 ending March, a four-fold increase from $500mn in the same period last year. Group revenues were at $98.4bn, up 19% YoY given higher commodity prices and increased trading volumes. Impairment charges were at only $55mn vs. $1.6bn in the six-months ending September 2020. It said that oil trading volumes jumped to 6.4mn barrels a day, up 14% YoY with metals and mining higher by 7%. Trafigura’s gross profit margins also improved to 4.3% from 3.8% last year. The company’s leverage metric ‘adjusted net debt ratio’, which removes borrowings from its securitisation programme and inventories, fell to 0.1x equity as its adjusted net debt fell to $750mn from $2.76bn. Trafigura said it invested €1.5bn ($1.8bn) of its cash in a €7bn deal to buy 10% of Rosneft’s Arctic project. “While we do not expect to match the first-half results in the second half of this financial year, we do expect very strong performance for the full year and look with increasing confidence to 2022”, said Jeremy Weir.

Trafigura’s bonds were flat – its USD 6.875% Perps were at 101.63, yielding 3.7%.

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