RIYADH: Vitol Group paid a record $2.9 billion to its executives and staff through share buybacks this year after the global energy trader posted its best results in 2020, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Vitol’s net profit of $3.2 billion last year exceeded its previous record of $2.3 billion in 2019, the report said, citing the company’s audited annual accounts.
Vitol made a significant chunk of its profits during the second quarter when oil demand collapsed. It allowed traders to buy cheap crude and store it. Then it locked in a profit by selling forward the oil on the futures market at higher prices, according to the report.
The trading house distributed nearly $19 billion through share buybacks in the past 17 years to its partners, the report added.
