/ 22 July 2010

Kumba first-half export volumes up, sees higher output

Kumba Iron Ore, a unit of global miner Anglo American, reported a 10% rise in exports sales volumes and said it remained committed to raising annual production volumes.

South Africa’s Kumba said export sales volumes rose to 18,8-million tonnes, while its operating profit was up 64% to R11,2-billion.

Kumba said attributable and headline earnings for the period were R20,27 and R20,28 respectively.

“Export sales volumes into China are expected to normalise at around 60% of the geographical sales mix,” the company said in a statement.

China is the world’s largest iron-ore buyer and consumes more than half of the world’s traded ore.

Kumba said export sales for the second quarter of 2010 at 9,5-million tonnes was 14% lower than a year earlier. — Reuters