Glencore Swings Back to Profit on Better Metal, Coal Prices

Surging commodity prices powered Glencore PLC to a strong first half of the year as the Swiss-based mining and trading giant continues to recover from a gut-wrenching downturn two years ago that sparked worries about its financial health.

Glencore--one of the world's largest coal, copper and zinc producers--reported Thursday net profit of $2.5 billion in the six months to June 30 compared with a $369 million net loss in the same period a year earlier. Glencore had posted net profit of $1.4 billion in 2016.

"Amid the best global economic growth momentum seen in recent years, our assets reported strong margins, generated by significantly better commodity prices," Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg said in a statement.

Glencore's first-half revenue rose 44% to $100 billion from the same period a year ago, helped by better copper, coal and zinc prices.

Net debt was $13.9 billion, down from $15.5 billion at the end of 2016.

--Write to Scott Patterson at scott.patterson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2017 02:46 ET (06:46 GMT)