Johannesburg - Shares of Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO], a unit of
Anglo American [JSE:AGL], fell more than 2.5% on Friday after the miner said
earnings for the first half would be lower than expected due to a fall in metal
prices.
Kumba said its headline and basic earnings for the six
months to end-June would be between R7.1bn and R7.5bn‚ and on a per share basis
this translated to between R22.10 and R23.40.
This compares to headline earnings of R9.06bn for the same
period a year earlier and basic earnings of R9.052bn. Headline and earnings per
share were R28.23 and R28.20 respectively.
“The decrease in earnings is largely attributable to a
decrease in export iron ore prices in the period‚” Kumba said.
Kumba shares, one of the world’s top producers of iron ore,
were 2.54% weaker at R565 by 11:45 GMT, compared with a 0.34% rise by the Top
40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index.