(Bloomberg) -- Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. had its second-best year ever for earnings, joining other major commodities trading houses in booking huge windfalls from energy markets even as price volatility fell during 2023.

The Geneva-headquartered company notched a profit of about $2.7 billion last year, according to people familiar with the matter. That’s down about 10% from the record earnings of 2022 but still more than double any other result in company history. 

It’s the latest evidence of a bonanza reaped by the top energy traders in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with larger rival Vitol Group also reporting its second-best year with profit of about $13 billion.

Although the extreme price movements that characterized energy markets in 2022 started fading last year, regional shortages and the rerouting of oil and gas trade flows from Russia helped physical market players capture substantial trading margins.

In a bid to lock in some of those margins for the future, traders are spending their substantial cash piles on assets to produce, ship and store commodities. Mercuria said last week it was investing $200 million in MN8 Energy LLC, a solar and battery storage company in the US.

Mercuria has been on a hiring spree of big hitters from around the commodities trading industry as co-founders Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi prepare for a new generation of leadership, Bloomberg reported April 5.

The company also wants to build out its trading books in gas, power and liquefied natural gas.

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