Trafigura traders share £2.3bn pay bonanza as Iran war boosts profits at the commodities firm
Trafigura traders are sharing a record £2.3billion half-year dividend payout after the commodities firm reported bumper profits and eyed increasing demand amid disruption caused by the Iran war.The windfall, distributed to more than 1,400 senior employees who are shareholders in the group, was more than the payout for the whole of the previous year.It came as Trafigura reported a £3billion profit for the six months to the end of March, up from £1.1billion in the same period a year earlier.The company, which moves raw materials around the world, said that most of those profits came before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. .But its services will be in greater demand after the outbreak of the conflict, which has choked off oil and gas supplies, and other key commodities, from the Middle East.Chief executive Richard Holtum said: ‘As we have seen during Covid-19 and later following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, periods of disruption reinforce our relevance to customers.’ Rising demand: Commodities firm Trafigura reported a £3bn profit for the six months to the end of March, up from £1.1bn in the same period a year earlier He added: ‘When supply chains are under strain, our teams work harder and move faster to identify solutions and manage increased risks.’The war has caused an increase in oil and gas prices but Holtum said that Trafigura’s profits were driven not by that but by ‘the complexity and cost of delivering those solutions’.Finance chief Stephan Jansma said that since the end of March, performance ‘has been good’ though ‘the external environment is difficult to forecast’.Trafigura’s chief economist Saad Rahim noted that while the disruption caused by war in the Middle East has been described as the ‘largest energy crisis in history’, sharp spikes in oil and gas prices have been ‘relatively muted’ given the scale of the problem.That was partly due to the outbreak of war during the ‘shoulder season’ – between periods of peak demand as well as the release of a total of 400m barrels of oil reserves by a number of countries, and a series of reports hinting at a possible peace deal.‘All of these factors have bought the market some time, and therefore prices remain relatively contained. But we are now at an inflection point,’ Rahim said.‘A negotiated peace, if it materialises soon, would ease some of the pressure but restoring production and shipping flows to pre-conflict levels would still take months, meaning a supply deficit would likely persist regardless.‘If the conflict continues, the challenges ahead will be severe.’DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you
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Trafigura traders share £2.3bn pay bonanza as Iran war boosts profits at the commodities firm
