Abterra, the supply chain manager of resources and minerals in Asia Pacific, says net profit jumped 77% to $3.9 million for the 3 months ended 30 June 2010 (2Q10) from $2.2 million in 1Q09. In 2Q09, it registered a net profit of only $223,000.

Abterra says the q-o-q surge in net profit was fuelled by a six-fold increase in revenue to $88.2 million in 2Q10 from the previous quarter, as the group saw strong trading growth for its core iron ore, coal and coke trading businesses.

Trading of coke and coal improved significantly from $5.7 million in 1Q10 to $77.0 million in 2Q10. Similarly, the group’s iron ore trading business contributed revenue of $11.1 million in 2Q10, compared to $9.1 million in 1Q10.

As a result of the increased trading volumes of its coke products, gross margins improved from 3.0% in 1Q10 to 8.3% in 2Q10. Consequently, gross profit for the group grew from $0.4 million in 1Q10 to S$7.4 million in 2Q10.