Noble Group posts first annual loss in two decades, flags refinancing

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore-listed Noble Group reported its first annual loss in nearly 20 years on Thursday, battered by a $1.2 billion writedown on weak coal prices, and said it expects to successfully refinance its revolving credit facility.

Noble, one of the biggest traders of commodities from coal to iron ore to oil, is trying to boost investor confidence after a bruising accounting dispute.

It said it will revert to its core strategy of being an asset-light physical merchant and diversify away from its historical reliance on industrial commodities.

Noble swung to a net loss of $1.67 billion for the year to Dec. 31 versus a profit of $132 million a year earlier on a 22 percent fall in revenue. Net profit from its underlying businesses more than halved to $244 million.

"We have self evidently advanced our key strategic objectives over the last three years despite a very difficult external environment," CEO Yusuf Alireza, who has fought back by selling assets, cutting business units and trimming debt, said in a statement. (http://bit.ly/1VGhqwZ)

The company had warned of the full-year loss two days ago. [nL3N1615WA]

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Rujun Shen; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)