Hong Kong-Noble Group reported a 281 percent increase in net profits for the first quarter ending March 31, 2008, to a record $167 million. This was nearly triple the year-ago numbers. Net income included an exceptional gain on disposal of shares in the amount of $47.8 million, but even excluding the effect, Noble’s net profitability was the highest in company history, exceeding fourth quarter 2007’s $97 million by 22 percent. Noble said the profits benefited from comparably equal contributions from all four key business segments. First-quarter earnings per share were up 254 percent, to US$6.41 versus the year-ago $1.81. First-quarter revenues were $9.5 billion, up 132 percent from the year-ago quarter. Tonnage volumes rose to a record 39 million tons, a 56 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.
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