Noble Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-based supplier of raw materials from soybeans to coal, said second-quarter profit more than doubled, helped by a one-time gain from the acquisition of Gloucester Coal Ltd.
Net income rose to $248.8 million, or 7.45 cents a share, in the three months to June 30, from $122.5 million, or 3.64 cents, a year earlier, the company said today in a statement to the Singapore Exchange. Sales fell 31 percent to $7.17 billion.
Noble won control of Sydney-based Gloucester Coal in May after raising its cash bid to A$460 million ($387 million) for shares it didn’t already own in the coal miner. First-half net profit margin rose to 1.4 percent, after adjustments for one- time gains, compared with 1.2 percent a year earlier.
“In what remained a difficult economic environment, Noble’s first-half performance represents a very solid result,” Chairman David Eldon said in a statement today. “We have been particularly encouraged by the fact that our net profit margins widened as our pipeline strategy gains traction.”
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, which tracks 19 raw materials including soybeans, sugar, nickel and aluminum, gained 13 percent in the second quarter, after falling 4 percent in the previous three months. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, more than doubled to 3,757 at the end of the second quarter from the previous three months, boosted by shipments to China.
Noble shares have gained 96 percent this year, valuing the company at S$6.7 billion ($4.7 billion). The stock rose 2 percent to S$2 on the Singapore stock exchange today before the financial results were released.
Noble handled a record 93 million tons of products in the first half, up 19 percent from a year earlier, the statement said. Agricultural products reported a 7.2 percent gain in gross profit to $224 million, near a record for a six-month period, Noble said.
“We’ve got volume growth taking place,” said Stephen Marzo, the chief financial officer, in a conference call today. “The idea is that as we increase our volumes and increase our throughput capacity, as new assets come on line, we should see an improvement in overall profitability.”
Commodity suppliers are benefiting as China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals and oilseeds, boosted purchases to build up its stockpiles. China is spending 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) on an economic stimulus package.
Noble’s energy division, which accounts for about half of its revenue, reported sales of $7.3 billion in the first half, 31 percent lower than a year earlier, the statement said. Sales of metals and minerals including copper and iron ore fell 39 percent to $2.1 billion.
Revenue from agriculture including grains, oilseeds, cocoa and cotton decreased 30 percent to $3.4 billion, the company said. Sales from logistics slid 60 percent to $364 million, the statement said.
Source: Bloomberg
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