Anglo won’t sell assets as profits rebound

ANGLO American has cancelled a plan to sell several assets after earnings doubled last year on the back of cost cuts and rising metal prices.

Nickel mines in Brazil and coking coal assets in Australia will no longer be sold, chief executive Mark Cutifani said in an interview yesterday.

The company is “happy to stick with” its iron ore and export coal mines in South Africa.

During the depths of the commodities crisis, when investors were questioning whether Anglo could survive, the company unveiled a dramatic turnaround plan to unload assets and pay down debt.

As raw material prices steadily climb higher, those fears are long gone, and the company is now dialling back its restructur- ing plans.

Bigger profits and a stock price that tripled last year show that Anglo’s turnaround programme has worked.

Costs have dropped by a third in the past three years, Cutifani said.

The company reported underlying earnings of $1.72 (R22.63) a share in the year to December 31, compared with 0.64c a year earlier.

That exceeded the average analyst estimate of $1.39 a share.

Net debt was reduced to $8.5 billion, well below its target of $10bn. Anglo planned to keep reducing debt, with a new goal of below $7bn this year, Cutifani said.