(Reuters) -Global commodity trader Gunvor’s first-half net profit fell nearly 71%, it said on Friday, citing an environment of oil oversupply, increased competition, fewer open arbitrage opportunities and thin margins.
The Geneva-based trader, which is not listed, said net profit after tax totalled $120.8 million for the first six months of 2025, compared to $417 million in the same period last year.
“Given the market turmoil, Gunvor decided to adopt a more conservative risk approach, thereby focusing on limiting downside risk,” the company said in a statement.
Alongside rivals Vitol and Trafigura, Gunvor has seen profits fall since last year as the post-pandemic recovery and commodity price shocks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine faded, ending a boom period for commodities in 2022-2023.
The first half of its 2025 financial year coincided with the beginning of the second term of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose trade and foreign policies have thrown global markets into turmoil.
Gunvor’s profits fell despite a rise in revenue and traded volumes.
Traded volumes rose to 123 million metric tons in the first half of 2025, from 109 million a year earlier, with natural gas showing the largest year-over-year increase, rising 72% to 38 million tons.
Gunvor’s revenue rose by around 8.6% to $73.6 billion, with higher natural gas revenue partly offset by lower revenue from oil and oil products. The group’s equity value stood at $6.6 billion, it said.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in LondonEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Susan Fenton)
