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Johannesburg - AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG], the world’s third-largest gold miner, said earnings fell 6% as it produced less and the price of bullion declined.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation decreased to $378m in the three months to March 31, compared with $402m a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Monday. Production dropped 11% to 861 000 ounces while all-in sustaining costs slipped 6.5% to $860 an ounce.
“We again generated significant free cash flow despite the lower gold price, which shows the continued success of our self-help measures to reduce debt by improving margins,” chief executive officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said in the statement.
AngloGold has cut costs by about half in the last three years and reduced its debt by about a third after it was forced to restructure following the metal’s 28% plunge in 2013. While the company still doesn’t pay a dividend, its cash flow improved after gold rallied this year and currencies declined in its major producing countries such as South Africa, lowering expenditure.
Production and cost outlook for the full-year “remains unchanged and within previous guidance range”, AngloGold said.
