Overall Noble had $US90.2 million in net profit for the March quarter, well below the $167.1 million achieved in the same period last year.

The Hong Kong-based company had revenue falls across the board, with its energy division declining 35% to $3.28 billion and its metals, minerals and ore division sinking 44% to $1.01 billion.

Discussing the results and the ongoing economic turmoil, Noble non-executive chairman David Eldon said the first 12 weeks of this year were a continuation of the environment the company saw in the second half of 2008.

“In short, equity market rallies are not a reflection of what we are yet seeing in the real world,” he said.

“The environment that we are dealing with has not materially improved. Counter-party risk remains our key concern, representing the first obstacle that we have to clear before undertaking any transaction.

“Our MMO supply chains feeding raw materials into heavy industry continue to face a difficult environment, whereas our segments that offer broader risk management tools and where we have built a deeper asset base continue to see decent profit opportunities.”

Reporting on positive developments, Eldon said the construction of the first phase of the new coal loader at the Port of Newcastle would lead to a significant expansion of output from Donaldson Coal’s mines, a non-listed company that Noble has a majority stake in.

While Noble gained its first thermal coal contracts for the South American market during the quarter, the company also helped Australian iron ore miner Territory Resources land long-term contracts with Chinese steel mills in March.

Gloucester merger

Noble, a 21.7% shareholder of Gloucester, ended March with a cash position of $1.24 billion, the second-highest level in its history.

Coinciding with its quarterly results this week, Noble has upped its cash offer for Gloucester Coal by 24% to $A6 per share in an attempt to prevent the producer merging with Whitehaven Coal.

The new cash offer reflected both the higher price of Gloucester shares since Noble’s original cash offer back in March and recent orders from the Takeovers Panel review, which put the merger back on the cards.

Under the proposed merger, Whitehaven shareholders will receive one Gloucester share for every 2.45 Whitehaven shares they hold, while Gloucester shareholders will continue to hold their existing ordinary shares.

Yesterday morning Gloucester said it was considering Noble’s offer and would respond in due course.

The tug of war for Gloucester has lifted the producer’s shares, with Noble’s new bid far above the $3.28 closing price of Gloucester on February 19 – the day before the initial Whitehaven merger announcement.

Back in 2007, Noble and private mining group AMCI used their stakes to vote down a takeover offer by Xstrata Coal, despite the wishes of Gloucester’s board.

The merger between Gloucester and Whitehaven would create a $1.2 billion company that holds combined reserves of 190 million tonnes and resources of 922Mt with saleable production of 4.5Mt, as of calendar year 2008.

Gloucester shares remain unchanged yesterday at $5.90, while Whitehaven shares are up 13c to $2.17.