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Mercuria, a company based in Switzerland, recorded a decline in its annual profits following the boom in gas trading and gains resulting from structured finance operations that did not offset the strong lower oil trading volumes.
Net income for the year ended December was $ 419 million, down 5% from 2017 at $ 121 billion.
The volume of trade in crude and petroleum products decreased by about 2 million barrels per day, while gas and electricity volumes jumped by almost a third, thanks to the purchase of non-oil energy unit of Noble Group in North America.
Independent trading companies have had a difficult year in the oil markets, with difficult market conditions and large price fluctuations that have unbalanced many investors.
Mercuria's share of net oil trading income dropped from around 70% to 54% at the beginning of this decade. The contribution of its other activities, dry goods transport, gas and electricity, accounted for the remaining 46% of profits.
With annual profits declining, Mercuria CFO Guillaume Vermersch said the 2018 results were the three highest since it was founded by two former Goldman Sachs traders, Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi, in 2004. Gross Profits Mercuria has exceeded one billion dollars.
Vermersch said the company was looking to invest in renewable energy and liquefied natural gas. "We want to be part of the energy transition".
He added that Mercuria was looking to build an LNG team and was also considering potential investments in US export facilities. The private company will decide whether or not to pay a dividend later in the year.
Conglomerate ChemChina holds a significant minority stake in Mercuria.
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