Glencore has said Donald Trump’s capricious tariffs and a stubbornly low coal price have acted as headwinds for the mining giant in a testing first half of the year.
Revenue was flat year on year in the six months to June 30, hovering around $117bn (£87.9bn). But the group said the White House’s on-off tariff-making and the fraught geopolitical landscape had led adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to plummet 37 per cent, from $2.9bn to $1.8bn.
Adjusted EBIT also fell from $6.3bn to $5.3bn.
Beyond geopolitics, Gary Nagle highlighted this year’s historically low coal prices and the “temporary but largely expected” operational issues in its copper production as also acting as headwinds to the group’s performance.
But he confirmed that a root-and-branch review of its entire portfolio had unearthed several efficiency opportunities to help “streamline [its] operating structure”.
“The review also identified c.$1bn of recurring cost savings opportunities (against a 2024 baseline) across our various operating structures, which are expected to be fully delivered by the end of 2026, with more than 50 per cent already targeted for the end of 2025,” Nagle said.
Copper aside, production remained on target, the group said, and it reiterated its guidance for the rest of the year.
It added that it had received $900m, completing its sale of former agricultural investment Viterra to Bunge in early July.
A difficult year for Glencore
The fall in earnings compounds what has already been a difficult 2025 for the FTSE 100 mining and trading group, during which its share price has fallen to an all-time low since listing in 2011.
Shares in the group, which has a secondary listing in Sydney, are down 16.7 per cent this year alone despite rival miners like Fresnillo and Antofogasta being among the FTSE 100’s performers.
Its doggedly languid share price has caused it to announce a review into its London listing. News of the review, announced in February after Nagle said New York might make a better home for the commodities juggernaut, sparked fears the exodus of companies from the UK capital’s bourse could spread into London’s cherished mining groups.
Glencore did not provide any update on that review during Wednesday’s interim results.
Last month, the accounting watchdog launched an investigation into Deloitte over its auditing of Glencore, after the mining and commodities group was mired in a corruption scandal.
Glencore pleaded guilty to criminal charges in 2022 after several investigations by police across the US, UK and Brazil, which unearthed bribery and market manipulation. It agreed to pay north of £1bn of penalties.