March 25 (Reuters) - International oil trader Vitolwas hurt by a drop in profit last year due to toughmarket conditions prompted by the recovery in oil prices, theFinancial Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar withthe results.
Vitol posted net income of
The privately held commodity trader found it difficult tomake money from storing cheap barrels of crude and selling themlater, the FT said.
The fall in full-year net income does not include gains fromassets sales worth
The Swiss-based company, which does not publicise its entirefinancial information, has earlier benefited from marketvolatility and opportunities to lock in profit in 2016 bystoring oil and selling futures contracts for delivery at higherprices.
However, the FT said results have diminished due to a shiftto "backwardation" - where price of a commodity for futuredelivery is lower than the spot price.
During 2016, Vitol consolidated and expanded its presence inthe retail sector by increasing its stakes in existing ventureswhile also adding Royal Dutch Shell's aviation businessin
Vitol declined to comment on the FT report.(Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru, editing by DavidEvans)