The Financial Times has got hold of a bond prospectus issued by the secretive Swiss trading house Trafigura. It reveals a surprising level of profitability.

Trafigura has declined to share its prospectus with us, but based on the FT’s report of its contents we can disclose that in 2009 Trafigura made a profit of $1bn. This was more than double the profit it made in 2008 and more than double what its rivals thought it had made for last year.

Given that Trafigura employs 1,900 people, this amounts to a profit of $526k per head, versus $411k per head at Goldman Sachs for 2009.

This may translate as generous pay.

Mark Tomlinson, global head of commodities at search firm Kinsey Allen, says trading houses typically pay a much higher percentage of their profits to commodities traders than banks do.

“In banks, anything from 4-10% is a possibility,” says Tomlinson. “At a commodities trading house that can rise to 8-20% which in a lot of cases could be a cash payment whereas banks tend to have much higher stock vs cash ratios.”

Unfortunately, opportunities to move from banks to trading houses tend to be limited. Trading houses are primarily interested in recruiting traders with physicals experience.

“Trading houses mostly hire from each other, or from utilities,” says the head of another commodities trading recruiter. “It’s easier to move from a bank to somewhere like Trafigura if you’re working in risk.”