Oil Trader Trafigura Posts Record Profit In Volatile Energy Markets

Commodity trader Trafigura booked a record profit for the financial year that ended September 30 in an unprecedented energy market volatility after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Trafigura, one of the biggest independent oil and commodity traders in the world, reported on Thursday a net profit of $7 billion for the year ended in September, more than double the profit from the previous fiscal year and more than all the profits from the previous three years combined.

Revenues jumped by 38 percent to $318.5 billion from $231.3 billion in 2021 despite the lower traded oil volumes compared to the previous financial year.

Trafigura’s total volume of commodities traded in 2022 was lower year-on-year, due to a reduction in oil and petroleum products volumes in the second half of the financial year. This was driven by “the termination of long-term contracts for Russian crude oil and products in light of international sanctions, reduced availability of hedging in derivatives markets used to manage price risk, and a decision to focus on higher-margin opportunities,” the commodity trader said.

Trafigura traded an average of 6.6 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day in the financial year 2022, compared to the daily average of 7.0 million barrels in 2021. Non?ferrous metals traded volumes were flat at 23.3 million metric tons, while bulk minerals volumes, driven by increased iron ore volumes, rose by 10 percent to 91.3 million metric tons. 

“The past year saw our people work hard to solve the disruptions created by unprecedented market volatility and the big structural shifts that are shaping our industry,” said Jeremy Weir, Trafigura’s Executive Chairman and CEO.

“Whilst the new financial year has started well, we need to remain focused and vigilant in a period that is likely to be at least as challenging as 2022,” Weir added.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Germany Is Preparing A Windfall Tax For Solar And Wind Generators
• U.S. Drivers Could Get Under $3 Gasoline For Christmas
• Russia Boosting Natural Gas Supply To China