Swiss commodities giant Glencore took advantage of the release of its half-year results Tuesday to reaffirm its interest in buying Canadian coal firm Teck Resources amid falling coal prices.
In a report detailing its results, the Swiss group said it wanted to ensure “a transaction with Teck would benefit Canada”, once again reiterating its hostile takeover bid which the Canadian miner has rejected.
Glencore, which is active in both commodity trading and mining, had unveiled a nearly $23 billion offer in early April for Teck Resources to combine their coal and metals activities, and then spin them off.
The Canadian firm twice rejected the offer, with support of its two largest shareholders.
In June, Glencore made an alternative offer to buy Teck’s steelmaking coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources (EVR) for cash.
During a conference with analyses, Glencore chief Gary Nagle declined to say whether the group would be prepared to join forces with other mining groups to take over the business.
“If we are not successful with acquiring EVR, the coal business would remain within Glencore,” he said.
Glencore’s coal strategy is attracting fierce criticism, including from shareholders, some of whom are urging it to separate coal from the rest of its activities in order to concentrate on its other resources, such as copper and cobalt, which are in high demand for the energy transition.
The firm’s profits soared last year with the surge in oil and coal prices following the war in Ukraine.
But now with what Nagle described as a “normalisation” of commodity prices, net profits contracted by 62 percent to nearly $4.6 in the first half of 2023.
The division specialising in commodities trading meanwhile saw operational profits fall by 52 percent to $1.8 billion against the backdrop of “limited” growth in China, the group said. (AFP)
