Trafigura reports record half-year profits of $2.1bn

Trafigura reports record half-year profits of $2.1bn

Trafigura made record profits in the first half of its financial year as the commodity trader rode the wave of a recovery in demand andprices for oil and metals.

The privately owned company generated net profit of $2.1bn for the six months to the end of March, up from $500m in 2020, on revenue of almost $100bn, which rose 18 per cent on the back of higher commodity prices and increased trading volumes.

Profits in the six-month period exceeded those in the year to September 2020 when Trafigura, which is based in Singapore but run from Geneva, reported net profit of $1.6bn. The result included $1.6bn of impairment charges compared to just $55m this year.

The world's biggest commodity traders are continuing to profit from the volatility created by the pandemic after a record trading year in 2020.

But results have been bolstered even further by rising prices for oil and metals as the world's economic recovery gathers pace. Crude oil is up 40 per cent this year, while copper has gained 25 per cent and hit a record high.

Trafigura said it had increased oil trading volumes to 6.4m barrels a day during the first half of its financial year, a 14 per cent