24th Apr 2015 13:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Anglo American PLC Chief Executive Mark Cufitani said the company has had a "solid start" to 2015 and talks about the sale of some of the miner's assets are progressing on schedule.
In a speech that Cufitani gave on Thursday at the miner's annual general meeting and which the company released on Friday, the CEO also said iron ore and coal production has been "very strong" and said the management team has done "good work" on reducing costs.
"We are targeting, by year end, further improvement of our operating cost positions, which is critical in the current market, where prices have fallen dramatically, particularly in the last six to 12 months. Our operating cost position - our competitive position - will drive returns into the long-term," he said.
The CEO said the Lafarge Tarmac disposal is "on track". In July 2014, the miner reached a binding agreement to sell its 50% ownership interest in Lafarge Tarmac Holdings Ltd to Lafarge SA for a minimum of USD885 million in cash.
In South Africa, Anglo American is continuing to hold discussions with Eksom and the government about the sale of some of its domestic coal assets and the company said it is negotiating with numerous parties about its "very solid" platinum business.
"The restructure of our platinum business is ongoing and the operations that are producing today are, in fact, doing well relative to the platinum price. We have made a decision with respect to the platinum assets we will develop for the long-term and those we will divest as they do not fit our capital criteria, despite being good assets," said Cufitani.
"With our platinum business, we are in negotiation with some parties regarding a potential trade sale and still have the option of an initial public offering, which we prefer, but remain open to other possibilities," he added.
On Thursday, Anglo American reiterated its 2015 full year production guidance for all of its commodities apart from diamonds after reporting a rise in iron ore, platinum and diamond production in the first quarter of 2015, whilst copper and nickel production fell and coal produced mixed results.
Anglo American shares were up 3% to 1,094.00 pence per share on Friday afternoon.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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