OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 7.45pm.
Announcing the group’s interim results, Anglo chairman Julian Ogilivie Thompson said total net earnings, which include the surplus arising from the sale of a number of investments, including the Del Monte group, JCI and Consolidated Matallurgical Industries, fell to R3,076-billion from R3,864-billion last year.
The group’s balance sheet at the end of September consolidates for the first time the assets and liabilities of Anglogold — which rocketed the cash from operating activities a staggering 82% to R3,277-billion from R1,798-billion.
Increased headline earnings from platinum producer Amplats (12,5%) and from the gold (10,5%) interests were largely wiped out by the decline in the in the earnings from diamond group De Beers and base metals group Minorco. Added to this corporate services went into the red, due to a reduction in fees earned arising from the cancellation for value of certain management. Ogilivie Thompson said that commodity prices and demand as measured by export volumes had been depressed by the downturn in the world economies spreading from the Asian flu which started a year ago.
He further added that Anglo’s London listing, which will combine the businesses of Anglo American Corporation and Minorco to create a United Kingdom-based company, is expected before the end of March.
”Although at the time of listing, Anglo American will have a strong balance sheet with substantial cash resources and will not therefore be seeking to raise capital in the short term, a principal consideration in the decision to seek a primary listing in London was to facilitate access to world capital markets,” he said.