Mercuria profits fall as the company expands into metals and LNG

Mercuria's?chief finance officer? told a reporter on Friday that the trading house had posted a 6% drop in profit for 2025, despite expanding its metals and physical LNG businesses, as well as its shipping business, from Latin America into Central Asia. Trading?houses' profits fell from the record highs in 2022-2023 when energy prices rose due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Merchants reinvested profits in business expansion, equity and dividends while paying record amounts.

Guillaume Vermersch, the CFO of Mercuria, said that Mercuria's Net Income fell from $1.52 Billion in 2024 to $1.43 Billion in 2025. This is a drop from $1.52 Billion in 2024. In 2022 it was a record $3 billion. Guillaume Vermersch said that the results for each year were calculated 'on a basis of December-December. Mercuria Energy Group, an independent energy and commodities trading company, is primarily based in Geneva.

Comparatively, Trafigura's profits fell from $2.8 billion to $2.7 billion by 2025. This is a drop of $2.8 billion since 2024.

Vermersch stated that 2025 would be a year for transition in integrating "metals, LNG and shipping."

Vermersch stated that Mercuria equity was $6.3 billion by 2025. This is down from the near record of $6.6 billion set in 2024. The firm's tax rate for 2025 stood between 16-18%.

He said that the firm had not yet paid a dividend in 2025.

Mercuria doesn't disclose "dividends". According to sources, it paid more than $5 billion between 2022-2024 for equity stability.

Vermersch stated that metals account for about?20%, of the $130 billion in annual revenue of the company. Non-oil activities, such as gas,?power, and metals, make up roughly 65%.

Mercuria will expand its operations in 2025, and it plans to do so in Latin America, including Argentine, Chile, Mexico, and Peru, as well as Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, as well as Turkey, and India, through a newly-formed venture with Tata International.

Vermersch stated that Mercuria used 50-60% its credit lines with banks after the expansion. This is up from near zero in 2022-2024, when rates were high, and traders chose to use cash generated from record profits. (Reporting and editing by Matthew Lewis in London, Dmitry Zhdannikov)

(source: Reuters)