(May 15): Embattled commodities trader Noble Group reported a smaller quarterly net loss as it enters a make-or-break phase ahead of shareholder meetings and legal rulings over the next few weeks that will decide the company’s fate.
Once Asia’s largest commodity house, Singapore-listed Noble has shrunk its business after selling billions of dollars of assets, taking hefty writedowns and cutting hundreds of jobs over the past three years to raise funds and slash debt. On Tuesday, Noble posted a net loss of US$72 million ($96 million) in the January to March period versus a loss of US$129 million a year ago, although revenue fell 37% to US$1.2 billion.
