Glencore looks to electric vehicles for future growth
The commodities miner and trader has increased profit and paid down debt, preparing for ‘opportunistic’ acquisitions, as it puts a period of restructuring behind it
London — Glencore says electric vehicles and batteries will unlock future demand for metals, as the company positions itself for growth after a business turnaround in the past two years. While the commodity trader and miner reported earnings that were slightly lower than expected, it continued to cut debt and cited "significantly better commodity prices" behind profit growth. "The potential large-scale roll-out of electric vehicles and energy storage systems looks set to unlock material new sources of demand for enabling underlying commodities, including copper, cobalt, zinc and nickel," CEO Ivan Glasenberg said. 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. Debt levels are now much lower thanks to asset sales, cost cuts and rebounding metals prices. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for the first half were $6.74bn. Th...
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