The net profit of Gunvor Group Ltd. more than tripled last year to a record $2.36 billion, making it the latest commodities trading house to post stellar gains amid extreme price volatility the raw materials.
The company, led by billionaire co-founder Torbjorn Tornqvist, maintained a “restrictive dividend policy” and increased its capital by 72% over the year to $5.29 billion, it said in annual results released on Wednesday on the Euronext stock exchange.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions by Western governments have upended trading in energy and commodity markets. Traders such as Gunvor, Trafigura Group, Vitol Group and Mercuria Energy Group have made record profits, seizing arbitrage opportunities as prices for some commodities rose to unprecedented levels.
“This unique economic and market situation benefited commodity traders,” Gunvor said in his results.
Still, the industry was hit by margin calls from banks and brokers demanding more collateral. Gunvor, a major oil and liquefied natural gas trader, saw its trading volumes fall 31% to 165 million tonnes for the year as spot trading in European crude oil and natural gas slowed.
The company’s results include a $200 million provision “related to the ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice in connection with transactions in Ecuador.” This is on top of a total impairment of $501 million on its Ust-Luga oil terminal in Russia and a recently sold refinery in Antwerp.
