Commodities & Metals
Glencore Follows Other Big Miners to Lower Profits
Published:
Last Updated:
In the meantime, Glencore reported preliminary results this morning for its 2012 fiscal year. Like BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP), Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO), Anglo American, Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) and Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM), Glencore took a big write-down on a mining property: a $1.2 billion impairment charge on a reclassification of an earlier charge for the company’s investment in Russian aluminum giant Rusal. All told, Glencore wrote down $1.65 billion in impairment charges last year.
The company’s commodity trading business helped offset the weakness in commodity prices, and Glencore managed to post an adjusted profit that was 25% lower than profit in 2011, but that exceeded an analysts’ forecast for a drop of 37%. Operating profit in the company’s trading division rose 11% and fell 27% in its industrial division.
For Glencore, only gold showed a positive commodity price change in 2012, up 6%. The largest negative changes were visited on nickel and iron ore, both down 23%. And Glencore nearly doubled its production of iron ore, while gold production fell by 1%.
Glencore’s report is available here.
Shares in London are trading up about 3.1% this morning, at 381.45 pence.
If you’re one of the over 4 Million Americans set to retire this year, you may want to pay attention.
Finding a financial advisor who puts your interest first can be the difference between a rich retirement and barely getting by, and today it’s easier than ever. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three fiduciary financial advisors that serve your area in minutes. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Start your search now.
Don’t waste another minute; get started right here and help your retirement dreams become a retirement reality.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.