AngloGold Ashanti expects more than $400 million free cash flow during the second half of the year on the back of high gold prices and improved cost performance, CEO Alberto Calderon said on Tuesday.
AngloGold’s headline earnings vaulted 413% to $313 million in the six months to June 30, up from $61 million a year earlier. Its income was buoyed by firmer metal prices and improvements in gold production and cost performance, including a notable turnaround at its Brazil operations.
The miner boosted its first-half dividend payment by 450% to 22 cents per share, from 4 cents per share during the same period of 2023.
Its free cash flow – a measure of how efficiently a business generates cash from operations – rebounded to $206 million from a negative $205 million in the first half of 2023.
“Q3 is off to a good start, teeing up to an even better second half,” Calderon said during an earnings call.
“As we look to the second half, all things being equal and the gold price staying where it is, we anticipate free cash flow more than doubling the H1 levels,” he added.
The price of the precious metal has risen almost 19% since the beginning of the year, peaking at $2,483.60 on July 17, driven by demand from institutional investors, high net-worth individuals and central bank purchases.
Spot gold was trading at $2,391.99 an ounce at 1425 GMT.
Calderon said the growth in cash flow in the first half had a bigger impact on AngloGold’s earnings than the higher gold price.
“We’ve been able to not only keep every penny of the gold price increase, but to surpass it, thanks to our full asset potential program,” he said, referring to AngloGold’s three-month assessment of each of its mines, including mine design, to enhance operational performance.
(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Evans)
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