ZURICH, Feb 16 — Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore said today it plunged deeper into the red last year, hit by the “extraordinary” challenge of Covid-19 and massive write-offs, especially on a mine closure in Zambia.

The company said it had a 2020 net loss of US$1.9 billion (RM7.6 billion) after writing off assets worth US$5.9 billion, compared with a 2019 net loss of US$404 million following writedowns costing US$2.4 billion.

Sales tumbled 34 per cent to US$142 billion, it added.

The coronavirus pandemic and the impact on the global economy amounted to an “extraordinary” challenge for the company which mines and trades basic raw materials globally.

Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg said in a statement the global economy was in recession in the first half of 2020, followed by a strong rebound in the second half.

The trading arm of the company saw operating profit soar 41 per cent to US$3.3 billion, reflecting the huge volatility of metal and oil prices.

However, the mining arm reported an operating profit fall of 13 per cent to US$7.8 billion, it said. — AFP