Anglo American's earnings down 30%

The group said the financial results were affected by weaker prices‚ partially offset by foreign exchange gains and improved production.

Anglo's chief executive Mark Cutifani said: "The first half of 2013 has been characterised across the mining industry by continuing downward pressure on commodity prices‚ driven by uncertain short-term prospects in many of the world's major economies‚ combined with cost inflation which has resulted in significant margin compression.

"Some improvement in Anglo American's production performance and depreciating producer-country currencies have worked to partially offset these pressures‚" he said.

The interim dividend was maintained at 32 US cents per share‚ reflecting the board's commitment to maintaining an investment-grade rating and to providing a base dividend‚ which will be maintained or increased through the cycle.

Group underlying profit was down 15% at US$3.3bn and underlying earnings before interest‚ tax‚ depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) were 7% lower at US$4.7bn.

Anglo's 2013 capital expenditure had been reduced by US$1bn‚ reflecting deferrals of spending in light of the current market environment and more stringent capital allocation framework‚ it said.

Operational performance

The group said its operational performance had been solid and its strategic focus on margin preservation partially offset substantially lower commodity prices and the impact of industrial action.

Kumba Iron Ore's continued strong performance at Kolomela offset the impact of the Sishen strike and higher waste stripping‚ while Metallurgical Coal's improved productivity and cost-reduction initiatives drove an 18% decrease in unit costs at the Australian export operations‚ partially offsetting a 21% decline in export metallurgical coal prices.

In Anglo's copper division‚ improved efficiency and recovery in production from Los Bronces and Collahuasi resulted in a 7% increase in production‚ helping to achieve broadly flat unit costs‚ despite the high mining inflation environment.

Consultation on Anglo's platinum restructuring proposals was concluded with the Department of Mineral Resources‚ while the negotiation process under section 189 of the Labour Relation Act resumed on June 10.

Cutifani said: "We have also identified additional value through the implementation of our new business process model. This is expected to deliver meaningful cost and production gains across our portfolio‚ with more consistent standards and performance across the group‚ while we see further value upside from the ongoing asset review which we are in the process of quantifying.

"We are pushing hard across all these fronts and will provide a further update on our progress and plans before the end of this year," he added.