Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore is well positioned to navigate the current challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg said on Thursday, when the London- and Johannesburg-listed company reported first-quarter production and provided a general update.
Glasenberg stated that disruptions to the Glencore business had been manageable and that the volatile and complex commodity trading environment had provided opportunities for its marketing business, such that, to date, it had generated annualised earnings within its $2.2-billion to $3.2-billion a year long-term guidance range.
UBS analysts maintained their buy rating on the Glencore share on the basis of its valuation being attractive and Barclays analysts described Glencore’s first-quarter guidance update as being “much better than expected, with decent upside to its production estimates for all commodities except ferrochrome”. Attributable first-quarter ferrochrome production of 388 000 t was 3% lower than in the first quarter of 2019.