Anglo Asian Mining (LON:AAZ) have told shareholders and the market that the company is now debt free.
The firm described this as a significant achievement for Anglo Asian, and shareholders should be sharing the delight just as much as senior management.
Anglo Asian noted that they had signed a loan agreement with Pasha Bank in February 2018, which was worth $15 million.
The loan had an interest rate of 7% per year, however only $13.5 million was eventually drawn down meaning that the whole loan has now been paid.
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:
“I am delighted to announce that the Company has made the final repayment of the Pasha Bank refinancing loan, marking the significant milestone of Anglo Asian now being debt free.
“The facility was taken out to improve the Company’s financial performance and provide operational flexibility. Given that the net debt of the Company peaked at over $50 million in 2015, this milestone is a remarkable achievement.
“Since 2015, as well as paying off its debt, the Company has continued to invest in its business, embarked on a three-year exploration programme at its contract areas, commenced payment of regular dividends and built up a significant holding of cash. This amply demonstrates the robust cash generation of the Company.
“The financial flexibility of being debt free allows Anglo Asian to focus on the growth of the business which I look forward to updating the market on as and when appropriate.”
Anglo Asian continue to impress
In January, Anglo Asian gave an impressive update to both shareholders and the market.
The firm said that it is looking at record annual revenue, due to solid production and a rise in commodity prices.
Anglo Asian’s 2019 production was 82,795 gold equivalent ounces, 1.1% lower than the year before. Copper was up 34% to 2,210 tonnes, with gold down 4% to 70,098 ounces.
The firm however did note that silver production had declined by 24% in the period, to 159,356 ounces.
In the fourth quarter, gold ounce production fell 3% year on year to 21,284 ounces. Gold fell 1.7%, silver by 37% however copper rose 24%.
The firm had accounted for $1,250 per ounce gold price in 2019, however the price rose over 18% across the year which contributed to the impressive performance highlighted in the update.
The recent performance of Anglo Asian has been nothing but stellar. Shareholders should be equally delighted that the firm is both operating at high level capacity and formally debt free.
Shares in Anglo Asian trade at 144p (+2.38%). 12/2/20 11:40BST.