GLNCY.US (GLNCY.US) core profit soared 86% in the first half of the year, trading business and copper prices rose two-wheel drive

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Glencore Plc (Glencore Plc) released its first half performance report on Wednesday. Thanks to the sharp rise in core commodity prices and the trading department's record one of the best performances in history, the company's profit jumped sharply. Affected by the Iran war driving up energy prices, global commodity traders generally reaped excess profits.

According to the report, Glencore's core income (EBITDA) reached US$10.1 billion in the first half of the year, an increase of 86% over the previous year. The company also announced that it will return an additional 1.5 billion US dollars to shareholders, including 1 billion US dollars in additional dividends and a 500 million US dollar share repurchase plan.

Additionally, Glencore said it will apply for a second listing in Australia. CEO Gary Nagle (Gary Nagle) said, “Investors are calling for us to go public in Australia. The Australian capital market has a deep pool of capital and a deep understanding of the resources industry.”

Geographical conflict spawned a trading feast, outstanding contributions to the coal business

The Middle East conflict continues to disrupt the energy market. In particular, since the Strait of Hormuz was virtually blocked at the end of February, large amounts of crude oil and refined oil products have been stranded in the Persian Gulf. The global energy supply chain has been hit hard, and attacks on regional smelters have also had an impact on the aluminum market.

Buyers are forced to buy alternative oil products from alternative sources such as the US, creating a large number of arbitrage opportunities for traders. Meanwhile, Ukraine recently launched multiple rounds of attacks on Russian fuel facilities, further exacerbating the tight supply of refined oil products and driving refining gross profit to a historically high level.

Against this backdrop, Glencore's trading business profit in the first half of the year reached 3.3 billion US dollars, and revenue from the coal business also increased sharply by 35% to 2.4 billion US dollars. As one of Glencore's main sources of profit, coal continues to benefit from this round of energy crisis, while copper prices reached record highs during the same period, driven by multiple factors such as the artificial intelligence boom and trade tariffs.

After the merger and acquisition negotiations came to a standstill, finding an alternative, asset sales are still progressing

The announcement of the results and the decision to go public in Australia comes six months after Glencore's merger and acquisition negotiations with Rio Tinto Group (Rio Tinto Group) broke down. Previously, the two sides had discussed mergers to create the world's largest mining giant, but negotiations finally came to an end because they were unable to reach a consensus on how much premium Rio Tinto should pay.

Glencore has continued to explore new ways to improve liquidity and valuation in recent years. The company considered going public in the US last year, then abandoned the plan.

Peers Rio Tinto and Anglo American Plc (Anglo American Plc) have previously released strong results due to higher metal prices, but Glen can obtain additional excess returns from trading business and coal exposure.

Currently, Glencore is proceeding with a partial asset divestment plan. The company is currently in negotiations with Orion Resource Partners, which is supported by the United States, to sell part of its shares in the African copper business, as well as the sale of its shares in Kazzinc in Kazakhstan.