Noble group warns to report $5-bn annual loss as debt-deal endgame nears

Hong Kong-based company seeking to press ahead on debt deal

Noble Group Ltd., the commodity trader battling to survive, warned that it’ll report another vast loss including from the operations meant to sustain a revamped business, and while it signalled progress in debt-restructuring talks, hurdles to a deal remain.

The Hong Kong-based company will report a net loss of $1.73 billion to $1.93 billion for the final quarter of last year, potentially bringing losses for 2017 to almost $5 billion, it said in a statement early on Monday. That meant it had a negative net asset position of $650 million to $850 million at Dec. 31.

Noble Group announced an