AngloGold’s 2021 profit falls 39% on lower output, higher cost
South Africa-based gold miner AngloGold Ashanti reported a fall of 38.66% in its profit for 2021 on Tuesday, as lower gold production and inflationary pressure hit its earnings.
The company’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) — the main profit measure in South Africa — was 146 U.S cents, down from 238 U.S cents a year ago.
The miner, with operations across Africa, Australia and Latin America, said it will pay a dividend of 14 cents per share, taking the full year dividend to 20 cents per share.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company is among the world’s top three miners of gold but its shares usually trade at a discount to global peers such as Newmont Corp. or Barrick Gold due to lower reserves, shorter life of mines and higher cost of production.
Its all-in sustaining cost (AISC) — a metric to measure overall gold production cost of miners — was $1,355 per ounce, up from $1,037 per ounce a year ago. Its Canadian rival Barrick Gold reported a full-year AISC of $1,026 per ounce last week.
The costs were up “mainly due to lower gold production, the drawdown of ore stockpiles at certain operations, higher operating costs and inflationary pressures,” the company said in a statement.
