Noble Group Ltd. (N21.SG) Thursday reported that its first-quarter profit nearly halved, but that was largely because the year-earlier figure had been boosted by a one-time gain and the Singapore-listed commodities supplier was confident its troubles last year were a thing of the past.

"The efforts that we have expended in recent years in getting into new businesses and new markets are starting to pay off and we look forward to extracting value from these initiatives under our new CEO, Yusuf Alireza," the company's septuagenarian founder and chairman, Richard Elman, said.

Net profit declined 46% on year to US$110 million, from US$203 million a year ago when Noble logged a one-time gain from the sale of its fleet management business. The company booked a loss of US$26 million on its supply chain assets this year, compared with a US$53 million gain last year.

Revenue rose 14% to a record of US$22.84 billion, Noble said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange.

Noble, whose businesses include agriculture, energy, metals, minerals and ore trading, had reported a surprise net loss in the third quarter of last year because of mark-to-market losses on cotton trades gone awry. The loss was a first for Hong Kong-based Noble as a listed company. Simultaneously, it announced the sudden departure of the then Chief Executive Ricardo Leiman after less than two years on the job, forcing Elman to step in briefly till Alireza took over last month.

"From my perspective it was 100% clear from all my discussions with Richard (Elman) and all the board, there continues to be a very strong commitment to address management stability," Alireza said on a conference call, seeking to address the concerns raised by analysts and the investment community. He added that he was looking forward to a long career at Noble and was in the process of reviewing the performance of the company's different business segments.

Operating income from the company's agriculture division fell 63% to US$47.3 million while that from the energy division rose 19% to US$348.5 million and that of the metals, minerals and ore business doubled to US$64.9 million, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the company hasn't yet taken a decision on an initial public offering of its agriculture division, Noble executives on the call said in response to a query. Last year, Noble said it was considering a spinoff and primary listing of its agriculture business on the main board of the Singapore Exchange.

Noble, in which sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. holds a 15% stake, continues to face pressure on its oilseeds crushing margins, especially in China .

Earlier Thursday, Wilmar International Ltd. (F34.SG) said its first-quarter net profit fell 34%, as margins in its oilseeds and grains business were squeezed by tough business conditions in China and poorly timed soybean purchases.

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