Noble's operating income from supply chains dropped 11%

Blame it on lower agriculture margins.

According to Joe Morrison, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst, Noble's reported operating income from supply chains fell 11% year-on-year for the nine months ended 30 September, owing to lower margins in both the agriculture and the metal, minerals and ores segments.

"In contrast, the energy segment continued to demonstrate solid contributions, as seen by the 20 increase in operating income
year-over-year, and an operating margin improvement to 2.18% from 1.83%.

The company has also shown progress on efficiency initiatives, with selling, administrative, and operating expenses declining to $493
million from $536 million," adds Morrison.

Here's more from Moody's:

"Nevertheless, financial leverage remains high, with adjusted net debt/EBITDA and retained cash flow (RCF) to net debt for the year to 30 September at about 4.8x and 10.6%, respectively, compared with 3.9x and 12.8% at the end of last year."

Debt levels have risen in the past year, due to pressures on profitability, capital expenditures, and investments to gain access to product.

Net debt at 30 September totaled $5.46 billion, up from $5.05 billion at end-2012. Overall adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended 30 September was $1.4 billion compared to $1.5 billion a year ago.