Glencore on Thursday said it was increasing shareholder returns to $2.8bn as surging commodity prices boosted interim profits.
The London-listed mining giant said first-half adjusted core earnings rose 79% to a record $8.7bn billion, compared with $4.8bn a year ago and beating expectations of $8.4bn.
Glencore said it would pay a $530m special cash distribution in September and launch a $650m share buyback to be completed by the release of its full-year results next year.
Net profit for the six months to June 30 came in at $1.28bn from a $2.60bn net loss a year earlier. Revenue rose 32% to $93.81 billion.
“Following Covid-19’s severe global impacts in early 2020, the subsequent economic recovery has seen prices of most of our commodities surging to multi-year highs amid accelerating demand and lingering supply constraints,” said chief executive Gary Nagle.
