Trafigura half-year profits shoot up on higher trade volumes, prices

London, (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Global commodity trader Trafigura announced Thursday a sharp uptick in first-half year net profits to $2.1 billion, up from $0.5 billion in the same period of 2020, driven by increases to trading volumes and commodity prices and 'stabilisation' of the company's industrial assets.

Both of its main trading divisions, Oil and Petroleum Products plus Metals and Minerals, saw increased volumes, margins and gross profits, the company said in a statement.

First-half gross profit margins rose to 4.3% from 3.8% last year, while revenue gained 19% to $98.4 billion.

The company has a positive outlook for the remainder of the year although it expects results to be slightly worse.

"While we do not expect to match the first-half results in the second half of this financial year, we do expect very strong performance for the full year and look with increasing confidence to 2022," said executive chairman and CEO Jeremy Weir.

The statement also noted that the company has secured access to increased bank liquidity, helping it to handle larger trade flows.