Glencore has recorded a decline in adjusted profit due to lower coal prices and copper production. The company said it has been storing its cobalt production from the DRC in the country since the export ban was imposed. It did not specify the amount of cobalt stored.
Commodities trading giant Glencore reported lower figures for the first half of 2025 on 6 August, weighed down by weak coal prices and a decline in copper production in what it described as a ‘complex’ environment.
‘Commodity markets in the first half were highly influenced by complex global and macroeconomic factors,’ said CEO Gary Nagle, quoted in the press release detailing its results for the period from January to June.
Lower copper production
In the first half of the year, the Swiss-based group’s net loss widened to USD 655 million, compared with a loss of USD 233 million in the same period a year earlier, due to asset write-downs in its coal operations in Colombia. Operating profit for its mining division fell 17% year-on-year to USD 3.8 billion due to lower coal prices and weaker copper production. Its trading division saw its earnings before interest and taxes decline 8% to USD 1.4 billion.
During the first half of the year, the group conducted a review of its mining activities, which identified USD 1 billion in cost savings. Glencore aims to implement these savings in full by the end of 2026, with a target of achieving more than 50% of these cost savings by the end of 2025.
Glencore is a major player in the DRC, where it operates two large copper and cobalt mines, Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) and Mutanda Mining (MUMI). These operations, located in Lualaba province, are crucial for the production of these key metals used in the energy transition.
Source: Le Figaro, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal