MINING
Why investors will keep a close watch on Anglo’s numbers
Anglo American has clearly flagged its annual performance for 2017 and investors will watch the numbers coming from the diversified miner on Thursday to see the benefits of a restructuring programme and what the future holds. Anglo took a beating up to 2015, with hefty debt of $13bn on its balance sheet and a programme to sell assets across the group to focus on just three core assets — platinum, diamonds and copper. Since then, Anglo has made a number of disposals; restructured assets like Kumba Iron Ore, which is generating a strong cash flow; and has reaped the benefit of increased commodity prices, prompting it to stop further asset sales. It has, however, pushed ahead with the sale of thermal coal mines supplying South African power utility Eskom, which has demanded 51% black ownership of companies supplying it, leaving Anglo as a minority partner, a position CEO Mark Cutifani has said Anglo would not countenance. Anglo has prepared the market via quarterly production updates o...
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