Noble Group is the parent company of Noble Americas, which trades fuel in the U.S. as well as owns and operates the SemFuel terminal assets in the Midwest.
“Revenue increases (in its energy business) were reported across all product lines, particularly fuel oil, gasoline, ethanol as well as new products such as diesel fuel and jet fuel,” the company said. “The majority of the revenue increase occurred in our North American operations, but higher revenue levels were reported across most of our geographic markets,” it added.
Noble, which is a major player in the global coal and coke market, said that the SemFuel assets provide downstream storage assets at a competitive entry cost while creating access to important energy pipelines Magellan and Explorer, which enhances its market information.
Besides the Midwest terminal assets, Noble Group has interest in grain crushing facilities, coal and iron ore mines, fuel terminals and storage facilities, sugar and ethanol plants, vessels, ports and other infrastructure.
With 2009 annual revenues exceeding US$31 billion, Noble owns and manages an array of strategic assets, sourcing from low-cost producers such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Indonesia, and supplying to high-growth demand markets including China, India and the Middle East.
The company’s revenues from its energy segment in 2009 were US$18.205 billion, up 0.25% from US$18.160 billion in 2008.
The energy revenues made up about 58% of the company’s total revenues in 2009.
Also, the energy segment was the only area in the company to show a rise in revenues in 2009 as other businesses, including agriculture, metals, minerals, ores and logistics, yield lower revenues than a year ago.
Gross profits in 2009 were pegged at US$1.105 billion, down 18% from $1.347 billion in 2008.
Revenues were US$31.183 billion versus US$36.090 billion in 2008. “Lower revenue was generally attributable to lower commodity prices in 2009 versus 2008,” Noble said.
“As a result, all commodity segments reported lower revenue with the exception of the Energy segment which reported slightly higher levels compared to the previous year,” it added.
Energy tonnage in 2009 rose 24.8% from 60 million metric tons a year ago to 74.9 million tons.
The company reported a record gross tonnage in 2009 at 180.3 million tons versus 141.5 million tons in 2008. Agriculture was the only segment that saw a lower tonnage last year.
Singapore-listed Noble Group shares were last traded at S$3.12 (US$2.21), up S$0.10 from the previous close. The price range in the past six months was S$1.98-$3.39. The company’s market capitalization was pegged at S$11.993 billion (US$8.5
billion), and it maintains a strong cash flow of US$937 million.