Trafigura Group's profit has been boosted by a bigger fleet and its recent moves to take stakes in big shipowners.
The trader, charterer and vessel owner said its net earnings in the six months to 31 March were up 27% to $542m.
The company said there had been a strong performance by both its oil and metals and minerals trading divisions, driven by significant volatility and dislocations in the global market.
Trafigura said physical oil trading was "exceptionally strong" and produced record earnings.
Group revenue for the period was slightly down from the same period of the previous year, at $83bn, reflecting lower average commodity prices.
But Ebitda for the period was a record $2.41bn, against $1.1bn in 2019.
Tankers come through for Trafigura
The shipping and chartering business also delivered a "very strong performance", it said, having positioned itself strategically with an increased fleet and a "sizeable equity position" to benefit from the expected IMO 2020 market disruption, which did materialise.
"Disruptions caused by OFAC sanctions that removed available VLCC tonnage and the deep contango market arising from [the] Covid-19 oil demand drop supported freight rates and further enhanced the performance," the outfit added.
Trafigura acquired an 8.48% holding in John Fredriksen's Frontline when it sold 10 scrubber-fitted suezmaxes to the company as part of a $675m cash and shares deal last August.
The company has since reduced this to 4.8% in a series of opportunistic sales.
Within weeks of the suezmax sale, Trafigura also made another similar move, taking a stake in Scorpio Tankers in exchange for 19 product carriers.
In February, Trafigura sold 1.2m shares of the New York-listed tanker owner shares, but retained 80% of its holding — a 7.9% stake.
This appeared to demonstrate both a nose for a quick profit and a long-term belief in the product tanker sector.
Trafigura has declined to comment, but it has been very active in tanker time charter markets of late and it is thought it remains committed to freight markets.
Bunker venture starts well
UK shipbroker Clarksons still lists the company as controlling 12 ships, mostly chemical tankers, plus an LPG carrier.
Trafigura also has a joint venture in bunkering, TFG Marine Fuels, set up with Frontline and another Fredriksen company, bulker owner Golden Ocean.
The two Fredriksen companies have stakes of 15% and 10% respectively.
Trafigura said there had been a strong start to operations at TFG Marine. The company is aiming to build a significant share in a consolidating global bunker fuel market, it added.
"At times like these, the physical trading and risk management activities of specialist companies such as Trafigura become more relevant than ever," said chief financial officer Christophe Salmon.
"Our core competence lies in understanding the global supply chain in great detail, in having highly skilled trading teams and in managing infrastructure such as oil storage facilities, pipelines and freight capacity."
The group has $61bn in credit lines, and is confident profit will continue in the second half of its financial year.
"Turbulent and uncertain market conditions continue to prevail, as governments work to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control and to restart the global economy," Trafigura added.
