Energy trader Gunvor posts record $2.36 bln net profit in 2022
London, April 5 (Reuters) - Gunvor Group posted a record net profit of $2.36 billion in 2022 with a strong performance across all trading desks, the energy trader said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gunvor's rivals also had a bumper year amid high price volatility and as Russia's war in Ukraine reshaped global commodity flows, with Vitol and Mercuria previously posting record net profits of $15 billion and $2.98 billion, respectively.
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Gunvor said its trading volumes fell to 165 million tonnes in 2022 from 240 million tonnes the previous year, due primarily to reduced trading in natural gas, but expected volumes to rebound in the coming year.
"The performance was broad-based across all geographies and all desks, including refining and shipping," Gunvor said.
Gross profit hit $4.88 billion for the year, but the net result included legal provisions and an impairment related to a minority, non-controlling investment in the Ust-Luga Oil Products Terminal in Russia.
A former Gunvor employee pleaded guilty in 2021 to what U.S. federal prosecutors called a scheme to bribe Ecuadorean government officials to win business from state-controlled oil company Petroecuador.
The U.S. Department of Justice and financial market regulator the CFTC have continued investigating the firm and Gunvor expects to pay a fine.
Last month, CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist told Reuters that it was considering whether to book a provision in the 2022 year.
Equity spiked to a record $5.286 billion in 2022 from $3.079 billion a year earlier amid reports Gunvor was in talks with strategic investors, including the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc), about a sale of a stake.
Industry sources familiar with the matter said Adnoc has been looking to buy Gunvor, or at least a stake, since last year. Tornqvist has said it is "no secret" the pair were in contact.
The sector's strong performance has carried over to the new year, with commodities trader Trafigura beating its previous record to make around $3.5 billion in profit in the first quarter of its current financial year.
(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Jan Harvey, Kirsten Donovan)