Glencore posts 8 percent net profit drop in H1

GENEVA -- Commodities giant Glencore International PLC has reported an 8 percent drop in January-to-June net profits as investors prepare to vote on a proposed merger with Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata PLC.

Swiss-based Glencore, one of the world's biggest traders in raw materials, says its first half net income attributable to shareholders fell to $2.275 billion, down from $2.474 billion in the comparable period of 2011.

It reported revenue of nearly $108 billion, a 17 percent increase from $92 billion in the first half a year ago.

Glencore says its drop in profits was a result of sluggishness of the global economy caused by "the European sovereign debt crisis and corresponding softening growth outlooks in many developed and emerging economies."