Anglo American jumps as its losses narrow in the first half
Anglo American shares closed up 5.48 per cent to 843p this afternoon, after the embattled miner's losses narrowed in the first half.
The FTSE 100-listed firm posted a net loss of $813 (£617m) in the six months to 30 June, more than two thirds less than the $3bn loss it recorded the same time a year ago.
Underlying earnings fell 23 per cent to $698m during this period, while revenue slumped 20 per cent to $10.6bn.
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Net debt last stood at $11.7bn, from $12.9 bn at the end of 2015, meaning it’s on track to cut its borrowing below $10bn by the end of 2016.
Anglo is trying to focus on more profitable commodities – such as copper, diamonds and platinum – and plans to hive off the rest of its business. Despite this year's uptick, the miner vowed to plough ahead with turnaround plans enacted to weather the current rout.
Mark Cutifani, chief executive of Anglo American: said: "We are transforming Anglo American to be a more resilient business, with a core portfolio of world class assets in products where we are developing a sustainable competitive advantage – in De Beers, PGMs and copper."
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"Sharply lower prices across our products were mitigated by our self-help actions on costs, volumes, working capital and capital expenditure."
BHP Billiton shares also closed one per cent higher to 965.30p, after it set aside up to $1.3bn for the tragic accident at its iron ore mine in Samarco last year.
It covers the BHP and partner Vale's commitments under a "framework agreement" with the Brazillian government, and also reflects ongoing uncertainty around a potential restart of Samarco's operations.
Investec said: "The provisions should cover the current estimate of Samarco’s funding obligations under the terms of the framework agreement."