Profits of Swiss commodities firm Glencore soar to $4.41bn

Glencore: $4.41 billion profit over six months Keystone-SDA

Swiss mining and commodities trading giant Glencore has posted net profits of $4.41 billion for the first six months of 2026, compared with a $655 million loss a year earlier.

Last year’s performance was hit by a write-down of nearly $900 million on the group’s Colombian coal operations.

+ Commodity trading in Switzerland, explained

“The first half of the year was marked by significant adjustments to energy prices and related markets, in the wake of the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East (…) Supply constraints on oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas and freight capacity have exacerbated volatility in the energy markets, amongst other factors,” noted CEO Gary Nagle in the company’s half-yearly report.

Revenue surged by nearly half to $174.43 billion.

Capitalising on the increased volatility, operating profit (EBIT) from trading activities rose by nearly two and a half times to $3.3 billion. Mining operations delivered an adjusted gross profit (EBITDA) up 72% to $6.5 billion, driven by an upward trend in commodity prices.

Shareholders will have two reasons to be pleased with this performance. Firstly, they will be offered a special dividend of 8.5 cents per share, amounting to a total of around $1 billion. Glencore will also launch a new share buyback programme worth 500 million dollars.

Shareholder returns are therefore expected to be in the region of $3.5 billion for the year as a whole.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.