Bottomline focus is key, so too is market perception, Noble

WILL 2017 be the year that Noble Group breaks free from its long spell of decline that has turned the company into a shadow of its former self?

The signs certainly point to it being a favourable time for the group.

Commodity markets have turned around, providing a much welcomed tailwind. The cost-cutting measures it has undertaken last year will also start to bear fruit this year, its chief financial officer Paul Jackaman told shareholders during its annual general meeting (AGM) last Friday.

Its chairman and founder Richard Elman indicated as much in his message in its recently released annual report as well.

"After the very determined and focused work of the last six months or so, we have arrived at the start of 2017 with a solid pl…