Shares in miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) fell nearly 2 percent at market open on Thursday, after it reported a 9 percent fall in net profit for the first half of the year.
Anglo American’s profit for the six months ended June 30 fell to $1.29 billion, down from $1.42 billion in the year-earlier period. However, revenue for the first half of the year rose 13 percent to $13.7 billion. Underlying EBITDA also rose to $4.6 billion, roughly in line with analyst forecasts.
De Beers contributed strongly to the results, with diamond production up 8 percent to 17.5 million carats in the first half of the year.
The company also announced that they would be going ahead with the development of its $5 billion Quellaveco assets in Peru, which is one of the world’s largest untapped copper projects.
Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said:
“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.”
Anglo American (LON:AAL) shares are currently down 1.39 percent at 1,676.40 (0944GMT).
