South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti reported higher full-year earnings on Tuesday, boosted by lower amortisation after the closure and sale of some of its assets, and a higher income from its Kibali operations.
The gold miner’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) rose to 53 cents ($0.0375), in the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, compared with 6 cents in the previous year, in line with company’s expectations.
HEPS is the primary profit measure in South Africa, and strips out certain one-off items.
“This is a strong operating performance that shows our commitment to meeting the guidance targets and improving our margins,” Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Dushnisky said.
Dushnisky, who was appointed CEO last year, aims to streamline the portfolio by selling the company’s interests in its Cerro Vanguardia operations in Argentina and the Sadiola mine in Mali to focus on operations with longer shelf life and the ability to deliver higher returns.
The miner said it would proceed to a feasibility study with its Quebradona Project, a joint venture with B2Gold, in Colombia.
The greenfields project is expected to produce 2.9 billion pounds of copper, 1.4 million ounces of gold and 21.6 million ounces of silver over its mine life.
“The project is technically robust and the metallurgy is particularly impressive with the high-quality concentrate it produces,” AngloGold’s Chief Operating Officer – International Ludwig Eybers said.
The firm, which produced 3.400 million ounces of gold in 2018, said it expects 2019 output to be between 3.250 million ounces and 3.450 million ounces.
Reuters
