2025 Annual Results: Chief Executive Officer's review

The 2025 financial year again demonstrated the value of our diversified business model, global scale and deep physical presence. Despite more challenging market dynamics, we ensured the secure and efficient flow of essential commodities – reaffirming our position as a vital link in global supply chains.

Group profitability remained extremely resilient, with net income of USD2.7 billion broadly consistent with the previous year. All three core trading divisions delivered excellent results in a challenging environment, driven by sustained demand for our services and a disciplined approach to capturing opportunities.

Our Oil division delivered a strong performance supported by continued strength in physical flows, underpinned by disciplined risk management and reliable logistics execution.

Gas, Power and Renewables achieved robust results as demand for flexible LNG and power solutions remained high, and our expanded US gas footprint – supplemented by recent acquisitions – provided new opportunities.

Our Metals, Minerals and Bulk Commodities division performed particularly strongly, underlining Trafigura’s agility and the depth and breadth of our commercial relationships.

In both oil and metals, we continued to grow into adjacent markets where we can leverage existing capabilities, adding vegetable oils and precious metals trading books during the year.

Our extensive Shipping and Chartering division continued to both support our trading activities and offer services to a growing third-party customer base.

In its first full year, the Operating Assets division established a new governance structure, organising our assets and investments into portfolios which are overseen from a shareholder value perspective by experienced managers. As part of our focus on simplifying and refocusing our business, we curtailed non-core activities, including river barging in Colombia, and divested the Burnside terminal in the US.

Acquisitions during the year included strategic stakes in the Fos-sur-Mer refinery and associated terminals from Esso through the Rhône Energies joint venture, as well as in Cogentrix Energy, strengthening our US power portfolio. We also completed the integration of Greenergy, a leading transport fuel supplier and major European biodiesel producer.

My focus and that of the Executive Committee this year has been on creating a simpler, smarter and sharper business, simplifying and refocusing on our core business, implementing smarter systems and sharpening the way we work. This is what will propel Trafigura over the next few years.

Strengthening our risk management framework and internal controls was a key priority in FY2025. We advanced recommendations from the external review following the serious misconduct by individuals in our Mongolian oil business and implemented a broad set of policy, process and oversight improvements. These efforts were supported by a global training and communication programme for all employees, which reinforced personal accountability and promoted clear channels to raise concerns or identify improvements. Together, these initiatives are enhancing controls, improving coordination and increasing the overall efficiency of our processes across the Group.

The year also brought some challenges. Safety performance remains a priority across our assets and operations, with a particular focus on preventing serious injuries and fatalities. I am deeply saddened to report that, despite these ongoing efforts, two employees lost their lives in separate incidents at mining operations, and two life-altering injuries occurred at a smelter and on a bareboat chartered vessel during FY2025. Each of these incidents have been subject to thorough investigations, with lessons shared across the Group and actions taken to address underlying causes.

We recognised impairments to various assets, including Nyrstar Australia’s non-ferrous metals smelters due to ongoing challenging market conditions, and Greenergy following the closure of Immingham biofuels production facility. These asset impairments underscore the importance of the new Operating Assets division in ensuring our asset performance continues to improve.

It is encouraging to see growing government recognition of the strategic importance of domestic metals processing in Australia, the US and, more recently, the European Union, in the face of these unprecedented market conditions. In August, Nyrstar Australia secured AUD135 million in transitional support from the Australian, South Australian and Tasmanian Governments for its Port Pirie and Hobart smelters. This assistance, alongside ongoing financial support from Trafigura, is helping to maintain operations while Nyrstar assesses a major rebuild of its Australian smelters and accelerates feasibility studies into expanding critical metals production.

Legal matters

In December 2024, Trafigura Beheer B.V. (TBBV), our former consolidated parent company, defended itself in court in Switzerland against the charge of failing to have in place all reasonable and necessary organisational measures to prevent alleged unlawful payments between 2009 to 2011. While acknowledging that TBBV had a compliance function and guidelines in place at the time, the court found these measures did not meet requirements and imposed a fine of CHF3 million and a disgorgement of profits.

Following the end of our 2025 financial year, Trafigura filed an appeal against the court’s decision. The judgment has not become legally binding and TBBV continues to benefit from the presumption of innocence during the appeal process.

Management changes

Effective 1 July, we expanded the Executive Committee to include Jiri Zrust, Global Head of Operating Assets, and Igor Marin, Global Head of Gas, Power and Renewables. In addition, Chris Afia, a longstanding senior leader within the Oil division, was appointed Chief Risk Officer following the departure of Ignacio Moyano.

Outlook

Looking ahead, the market environment in FY2026 remains highly subject to change, with evolving trade policies, moderating global demand growth in some commodities and ongoing supply-side disruptions. Our diversified business model, logistics capabilities and disciplined approach to capital allocation will be as important as ever in the year ahead in maintaining our resilience to external risks and our ability to capture opportunities.