Noble seen complying with long-term contract rules by PwC

Noble Group, the commodity trader battling criticism of its accounting, stepped up its public defence by publishing an auditor's report in support of its practices.

The study commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers and released by Noble on Monday states that the firm complied with international rules in valuing long-term contracts.

PwC qualified its assessment by saying the trader needs to improve governance and the methodology it uses to value the deals.

Noble has lost more than half its value since mid-February when a group calling itself Iceberg Research criticised its practices.

Noble announced Monday that second-quarter profit fell amid a slump in commodity prices. Net income declined 4.5 per cent to $63 million in the three months ended June from $66 million a year earlier. Revenue dropped 22 per cent to $18.4 billion, Singapore-listed Noble said.

Noble said it plans to reduce its workforce by 16 per cent to 1,564 employees by the end of the year as it cuts costs. It has also closed offices in Hamburg and Oslo as part of that effort.

– Bloomberg