Glencore Plc said it will cut about $1 billion of costs after a review of its sprawling network of mines and smelters, as it raised the long-term profit forecast for its commodity trading unit for the first time since 2017.
Glencore’s position as both a large producer and third-party trader of metals and minerals sets it apart from rivals, which broadly focus on one or the other business. The company has been grappling with lower prices for some of its key commodities — particularly coal, which is traditionally its biggest earner. Its refining business has also been hit by some of the lowest metal processing fees on record.
Glencore didn’t provide details of how the cost reductions would be achieved, but said they would be fully implemented by the end of 2026. It will give a further update when it reports financial results next week.
Across the industry, the world’s biggest miners are looking to remove costs and simplify as the industry faces lower prices for the most profitable commodities such as iron ore and coal. Anglo American Plc has already been on a cost cutting drive, while Rio Tinto Group’s new CEO has been tasked with streamlining the business.
“A comprehensive review of our industrial asset portfolio during the period recognized opportunities to streamline our industrial operating structure, to optimize departmental management and reporting, and to support enhanced technical excellence and operational focus,” chief executive officer Gary Nagle said in a statement.
While the mining side of the business is under pressure, Glencore has increased the long-term forecast for annual profit in its trading business to $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion, up from a longstanding level of $2.2 billion to $3.2 billion. The trading unit earned $1.35 billion in the first half, Glencore said.
The new range reflects growth in the existing metals and energy trading businesses, as well as expansion into new markets such as lithium and liquefied natural gas, Glencore said. It also cited “inflationary progression to today’s dollars.”
The increase comes after years of questions from analysts and investors about when it would adjust the range, which Glencore’s traders have consistently exceeded. The company resisted until now, arguing that earnings were temporarily inflated first by the impacts of the pandemic and then the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that markets needed to normalize before it formed a new long-term view.
While commodity trading profits have moderated across the industry from the record levels seen in 2022-2023, some of the biggest players have indicated they expect earnings have reset at a new higher level.
Rival Trafigura Group said earlier this year that its trading business had “reached a new cruising altitude” below the peaks of recent years, but significantly higher than the level of profitability it saw before the pandemic.
(By Thomas Biesheuvel)