Singapore-listed Noble Group plans to raise at least $500 million through asset disposals or from a strategic investor. Asia’s biggest commodity trader reported 84 percent slump in third-quarter profit and the departure of its chief financial officer. battered by losses in its metals division and its agricultural arm.
CFO Robert van der Zalm stepped down for health reasons, according to a statement on Thursday. He’ll take on the London-based role of vice chairman of finance and will be replaced on an acting basis by Asia CFO Paul Jackaman.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
Several transactions are now under discussion, Chief Executive Officer Yusuf Alireza said after the company announced the financial results. Noble’s next critical financial commitment is to refinance several credit lines that mature in May.
Alireza said on Thursday that Noble generated positive cash flow for the first time this year. While market conditions remain difficult, he said a turnaround in sugar prices may bolster the company’s performance into 2016.
Net income fell to $24.7 million in the three months to Sept. 30 from $153.9 million a year earlier as sales dropped 20 percent to $18.7 billion, Noble said.
Already grappling with a commodity price rout, Noble’s shares have shed nearly 60 percent since mid-February when blogger Iceberg Research alleged the company was inflating its assets by billions of dollars by not fairly representing the value of its commodity contracts.
“We achieved the group’s target of generating positive cash flow from operations early, generating $318 million” in the quarter, it said. That came as profit from Noble’s energy business rose more than fivefold to $143.4 million. Noble’s inability to generate positive cash flow has been a key criticism of the company by Iceberg.
Founder and Chairman Richard Elman owns about a fifth of Noble’s shares, while sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp owns about 9 percent.
