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Johannesburg - AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG], the world’s third-largest miner of the metal, said first-half profit more than doubled as a higher gold price boosted revenue and a weaker rand relative to last year lowered costs.
It maintained full-year forecasts for output, costs and spending.
Adjusted headline earnings were $159m in the first half of the year compared with $61m in the same period a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Monday. Cash flow tripled to $108m.
Gold, a haven in times of economic turmoil, has soared 26 percent this year as the US dialled back expectations for increasing interest rates, growth slowed in China and the UK’s vote to leave the European Union injected fresh uncertainty into global markets.
That’s helped AngloGold’s revenue, as did first-half weakness in the currencies of South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Argentina, countries where the company has mines.
The gold price received climbed 1% to $1 222 an ounce, while total cash costs to produce an ounce fell 3% to $706. Net debt fell 32 percent to $2.1bn.
The company maintained its forecast for production this year at 3.6 million to 3.8 million ounces. Cash costs are estimated at $680 to $720 an ounce, and it kept the prediction for capital spending at $790m to $850m.
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