Continued performance improvement supports 11% underlying EBITDA increase to $4.6 billion
Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American,said: “We have delivered another strong performance during the first half, with an 11% increase in underlying EBITDA to $4.6 billion and a 19% return on capital employed. We have also made good progress against our disciplined capital allocation objectives, strengthening the balance sheet with net debt down to $4 billion, delivering an increase in the dividend commensurate with earnings, and continuing to invest prudently across the business. This strong financial result derives from our consistent productivity improvements in the underlying operations and a stronger price environment for many of our products.
“We have continued to build on the significant productivity improvements of recent years, delivering a further two percentage point improvement(1)in the first six months of 2018. A 6% increase in copper equivalent production volumes(2)helped deliver $0.4 billion(3)of cost and volume improvements in the first half, out of the $0.8 billion targeted for the full year, against a backdrop of rising input cost inflation and the temporary suspension at Minas‑Rio.
“We see significant further potential to deliver enhanced returns from the portfolio, with our business model and relentless focus on innovation and business improvement resetting our performance benchmarks. As we now move forward to develop the world-class Quellaveco copper project in Peru, in conjunction with our partner Mitsubishi, we are excited about the opportunities we see across the business.”
Highlights – six months ended 30 June 2018
- Reduced net debt* to $4 billion, an 11% reduction since end 2017 – 0.4x net debt / underlying EBITDA*
- Generated underlying EBITDA* of $4.6 billion, an 11% increase, and $1.6 billion of attributable free cash flow*
- Profit attributable to equity shareholders of $1.3 billion
- Achieved cost and volume improvements of $0.4 billion(3)– on track for the full year
- Minas-Rio pipeline inspection on track, with remedial work to be completed in Q4 2018, prior to restart
- Increased interim dividend of $0.49 per share – 40% of first half underlying earnings*
Six months ended
US$ million, unless otherwise stated |
30 June 2018 |
30 June 2017 |
Change |
| Underlying EBITDA* |
4,577 |
4,116 |
11% |
| Underlying earnings* |
1,565 |
1,536 |
2% |
| Profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company |
1,290 |
1,415 |
(9)% |
| Underlying earnings per share* ($) |
1.23 |
1.19 |
3% |
| Earnings per share ($) |
1.02 |
1.09 |
(6)% |
| Dividend per share ($) |
0.49 |
0.48 |
2% |
| Group attributable ROCE* |
19% |
18% |
6% |
(1) Productivity indexed to 2012 benchmark.
(2) Excludes the impact of the suspension of operations at Minas-Rio. Including this, the increase is 3%.
(3) Excludes the impact of the suspension of operations at Minas-Rio.
Words with this symbol * are defined as Alternative Performance Measures (‘APMs’). For more information on the APMs used by the Group, including definitions, please refer to the Alternative Performance Measures section of the Group’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2017.
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