Thursday, December 08, 2022

Profiteering from War

 The commodities trading firm Trafigura is to give more than $1.7bn (£1.4bn) to its top traders and shareholders after the energy crisis, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, led to a surge in profits.

Trafigura, one of the world’s largest specialist commodity traders, posted a record $7bn net profit in its last financial year, more than the previous four years combined after making gains from the market volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

 Profits more than doubled and revenues grew to $318.5bn in the year to 30 September, up from $231.3bn a year earlier.

The $1.71bn payout to its 1,100 shareholders equates to about $1.56m a head if shared equally. That’s an increase of about 35% compared with 2021’s dividend of $1.12bn to around 1,000 top traders and investors.

Oil and gas companies, as well as some electricity generators, have faced windfall taxes as a result of the gains made following the war. However, politicians have not moved to curb the profits of commodity traders.

Trafigura hands out $1.7bn in dividends on profits fuelled by Ukraine war | Trafigura | The Guardian

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