AngloGold Ashanti forecasts earnings to almost triple as gold prices surge
South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti said on Tuesday it expected annual earnings to almost triple, boosted by a surge in gold prices during 2020 as investors rushed to buy the precious metal seen as a safe-haven asset in turbulent times.
The gold miner expects to report headline earnings per share between 229 cents and 247 cents for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, compared with 91 cents reported a year earlier, it said.
A surge in prices of precious metals, including gold’s climb above $2,000 an ounce early last year, had offered miners a lifeline after production disruptions caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
However, the miner, present in many African countries along with Argentina, Australia, and Colombia, expects a 7% fall in its annual gold production, mainly due to the sale of its South African operations and pandemic-induced disruptions.
