AngloGold Ashanti Ltd expects its earnings for the first half of 2023 to be as much as 92% lower due to impairments at its Brazilian operations.
Basic earnings for the period are expected to be between US$25 million and US$54 million, compared with US$298 million in the first half of last year, the company said in a trading statement Tuesday.
Headline earnings are expected to be between US$125 million and US$155 million, against US$300 million in 2022.
The decrease is due to non-cash impairments and the derecognition of assets in Brazil, which totaled US$103 million, according to the Johannesburg-listed miner. The impairments relate to continuing underperformance at Corrego Do Sitio – a small mine that AngloGold previously considered selling – and a processing plant that’s suspended activities while buttressing work at a tailings facility is completed.
Brazilian output accounted for only 12% of the company’s gold production of 584,000 ounces during the first three months of this year – with African mines in Ghana, Guinea, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo providing 60%.
Despite its South African roots, AngloGold sold its last mine in the country in 2020 and next month will finalize the transfer of its primary listing to New York.
Gold production is projected to be marginally higher year-on-year, following a stronger second quarter, according to the statement. AngloGold shares dropped as much as 5.6%, the most since 20 June.
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