Glencore H1 Earnings Call Highlights

Glencore LON: GLEN reported first-half 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $10.1 billion, supported by stronger commodity prices, increased copper volumes and a near-record performance from its marketing business amid disrupted energy and freight markets.

Industrial adjusted EBITDA rose 72% year over year to $6.5 billion, while adjusted marketing EBIT increased 142% to $3.3 billion. Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle said the company’s operations delivered production within market guidance for the first half and that Glencore maintained its full-year production guidance.

The company ended the period with net debt of $10.2 billion, down $1 billion, while funds from operations increased 158% to $8.1 billion. Glencore declared an additional $1.5 billion shareholder return, comprising $1 billion in cash and a $500 million share buyback to be completed over the coming six months.

Commodity prices and marketing lift earnings

Chief Financial Officer Steven Kalmin said higher commodity prices were the largest contributor to the industrial earnings increase. The company cited average period-over-period price increases of 39% for copper, 22% for zinc and 19% to 24% across its energy and steelmaking coal portfolios.

Glencore’s metals and minerals business generated $4.5 billion of industrial EBITDA, compared with $2.4 billion a year earlier. Copper EBITDA exceeded $3 billion, up from $1.1 billion in the first half of 2025. Kalmin said the African copper business contributed more than $1 billion in EBITDA, compared with about $100 million a year earlier, helped by a 66% increase in production to 138,000 tonnes.

Industrial oil EBITDA increased to $432 million from $164 million, aided by refining operations, including the company’s Cape Town refinery. Coal earnings also benefited from higher energy and steelmaking coal prices.

The marketing division’s $3.3 billion adjusted EBIT reflected trading opportunities created by energy-market, freight and supply-chain disruptions. Nagle said oil and gas made an “exceptionally strong” contribution, while coal also performed well. Metals and minerals marketing delivered a strong result but was below the prior year’s record performance.

Kalmin said Glencore’s long-term marketing EBIT range remains $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion. Using the first-half result and an assumption of second-half earnings between the midpoint and upper end of that range, the company illustrated full-year marketing EBIT of about $4.9 billion. He said July had started “reasonably well,” while noting that results will depend on market conditions during the rest of the year.

Costs rise amid energy and supply-chain disruption

Higher input costs offset part of the benefit from commodity prices. Industrial costs increased by $1.1 billion, primarily due to diesel, sulfur and sulfuric-acid costs, as well as stronger Australian and South African currencies.

Kalmin said the company experienced direct and secondary effects from Middle East disruption. Brent crude averaged $91.30 per barrel in the second quarter, compared with $61 at the beginning of the year, while Australian diesel premiums reached record levels. At Glencore’s Democratic Republic of Congo operations, sulfuric-acid costs were 40% above budget, and sulfur costs at Murrin were 67% above budget.

The CFO characterized much of the higher cost base as transitory, contingent on calmer markets and normalized supply chains. He said Glencore prioritized securing supplies needed to maintain production at its operations.

Glencore also said its cost-reduction initiative was largely complete. Kalmin said the company had delivered roughly 80% to 90% of a previously announced $1 billion cost-out program, with the savings permanently embedded in the business despite being overshadowed by external input-cost inflation.

Copper projects advance, with Alumbrera ahead of schedule

Nagle highlighted progress across Glencore’s copper portfolio, which is targeting roughly 1 million tonnes of annualized copper production by 2028 and 1.6 million tonnes by 2035.

• At Alumbrera in Argentina, first production is now expected in the second half of 2027, ahead of the prior expectation for the first half of 2028.
• In the DRC, Glencore secured a land package at KCC that it said extends mine life, improves productivity and supports a pathway to 300,000 tonnes of annual copper production.
• The feasibility study for the Mutanda sulfides project was approved for further review in April, while the company said its leaching restart at Collahuasi is under way and should produce first cathode by year-end.
• At Antapaccay in Peru, Glencore completed its acquisition of the Quechua land package and said it is advancing permitting and land access at Coroccohuayco.
• For the MARA project in Argentina, the company plans to submit its environmental permit application in coming weeks.

Glencore said it is continuing to increase spending on copper growth projects. Average annual capital expenditure guidance for 2026 through 2028 was raised 5% to $6.8 billion, reflecting inflation in capital goods, energy and construction costs. First-half industrial capital expenditure totaled $3.9 billion, including spending on land access at KCC and development work across projects including MARA, El Pachón and NewRange.

Australian secondary listing planned

The company also announced plans for a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in October 2026. Nagle said Glencore aims to qualify for inclusion in the ASX 200 within 12 months and subsequently seek ASX 100 inclusion.

He said investor interest in Glencore’s copper portfolio and the limited copper exposure available on the Australian market had supported the decision. The company has more than 17,000 direct employees in Australia and produces coal, copper, zinc and nickel in the country.

Glencore expects to require about AUD 1.5 billion of stock held on the Australian line for ASX 200 inclusion and approximately AUD 5.5 billion for ASX 100 inclusion. Nagle pointed to the company’s South African secondary listing, where approximately 8% of its register is held on the Johannesburg line, as an indication of potential demand.

During the call, Nagle also said Glencore had lost four colleagues in two safety incidents during the first half. He described the events as a “wake-up call” and said the company was redoubling efforts to achieve zero harm.

About Glencore (LON:GLEN)

Glencore is one of the world's largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities that advance everyday life. Through a network of assets, customers and suppliers that spans the globe, we produce, process, recycle, source, market and distribute the commodities that support decarbonisation while meeting the energy needs of today. With over 150,000 employees and contractors and a strong footprint in over 35 countries in both established and emerging regions for natural resources, our marketing and industrial activities are supported by a global network of more than 50 offices.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source