November 10, 2011 [OPIS] - Singapore-listed Noble Group shares sank to a 52-week low in response to the company's first ever quarterly net loss in more than 10 years.
On Thursday, Noble shares closed at $1.18, off the 52-week low of $1.16. The shares fell by more than 26% from above $1.60 to a low of $1.16. The 52-week high was $2.40.
Noble Group said on Wednesday that it is engaged in a major review of all businesses and the costs associated with them in order to improve margins and profitability. This follows an unprecedented first quarterly net loss posted by the company for the July-September period.
On Wednesday, Noble’s CEO Ricardo Leiman resigned for personal reasons.
“We repeat, we are not at all happy with these results, but very simply ‘Things happen’ which are out of our control. The company, however, remains very healthy and strong,” said Richard Elman, chairman of Noble.
“For the first time since we started writing these statements well over a decade ago we are reporting a net loss for a quarter,” he added. However, Noble maintained that its key U.S. oil and ethanol businesses continue to perform well in the third quarter despite weak overall energy results.
“We continued to perform well in our key products: ethanol, gasoline and crude oil, particularly in the U.S. market,” the company said on Wednesday.
In the U.S., Noble owns a terminaling and wholesale fuel marketing network in the Midwest and a distillates blending operation on the Gulf Coast. The company’s oil products trading operation stretches from coast to coast across the country.
