Gunvor's H1 profits soar to $841 mil in volatile energy markets
Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Profits at oil trader Gunvor soared in the first half of the year as the company took advantage of energy market volatility, posting a profit of $841 million.
In earnings published Thursday, the privately-owned firm said it had already bettered last year's full-year results of $726 million. Revenue for the first half of the year was $89.1 billion, up from $47.7 billion in the first half of last year.
The massive upswing comes as margins have spiked across energy products, with Gunvor's physical volumes put at 99 million mt in the first half of 2022, down from 118 million mt in the first half of 2021.
"Gunvor's result during this period, driven by massive global market dislocations, was broad-based across all regions and activities, including crude oil, oil products, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG)," said Gunvor chair and chief Torbjörn Törnqvist.
In the results statement, the company said it has severed trading ties with Russian counterparts where feasible while continuing to perform on contracts that are not yet subject to sanctions. "None of Gunvor's refineries process Russia-origin crude oil," it added.
Once part-owned by individually sanctioned Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko, said it had not been practical to offload its minority stake in the Ust-Luga Oil Products Terminal on Russia's Baltic coast yet.
The company said it remains "on track" to reach its target of cutting scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2025, without providing details. It said it would announce its scope 3 emission reduction targets later this year.
