Glencore profit leaps almost 50% on higher commodities prices
Ivan Glasenberg has turned the company around from a 2015 crisis, when investors sold shares on concern that debt was too high
London — Glencore, the commodity trader and miner headed by billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, signalled the end of a business turnaround, with annual profit rising 48% on higher prices and strong trading results. Adjusted profit rose to $1.99bn from $1.34bn a year ago, the Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Thursday. That compares with an average analyst estimate of $1.59bn. Net debt declined 40% to $15.5bn, compared with the company’s target of $16.5bn to $17.5bn. Glasenberg has turned around the business from a 2015 crisis, when investors dumped shares on concern debt was too high, to weather a prolonged downturn in commodities. A little over a year later, borrowing has halved from $30bn thanks to asset sales, cost cuts and rebounding metals prices. In December, Glencore said it would pay $1bn in dividends in 2017 and distribute more generous payouts in 2018, when it would tie the dividend to a proportion of profits from its industrial division. "The plan of action we ini...
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