Mercuria Reports $1.3 Billion Profit with Minimal Tax Liability

Mercuria's Financial Performance

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Swiss commodity trading group Mercuria posted a profit of $1.3 billion last year as it paid almost no tax, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Taxation and Profit Details

The company reported taxation of $1 million on its profit of $1.31 billion, an effective tax rate of 0.08%, Bloomberg reported, citing a copy of its accounts.

Market Trends in Metals Trading

Privately-held Mercuria does not report its results publicly, but recently communicated its accounts for the year ending September to lenders, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Recent Deals and Partnerships

The company is preparing separate results for the year to December and will finalize its year-end calendar results within about 14 days and will communicate them directly to its banks and counterparties, according to Bloomberg.

Mercuria is one of several energy traders expanding into metals trading, betting that structural changes in global energy systems will prove lucrative.

Mercuria said last month that a squeeze in global copper markets would tighten again next year, pushing up prices of concentrate and refined metal.

The company has made a few deals over the recent months with other metal producers including extending up to $100 million to Kazakh mining giant Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) as an upfront payment for copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The group's profit was down 37% from the previous year, but was flattered by an extremely low tax bill, according to the report.

Mercuria did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City; Editing by Anil D'Silva)