|
Meet worldwide manufacturers, wholesalers & importers in Alibaba now! |
INTERNATIONAL. Johannesburg-based AngloGold Ashanti, posted improved earnings for the first quarter of this year on the back of higher gold prices.
AngloGold's reported adjusted headline earnings of US$150 million or 42 cents a share in the period to end-March compared with a loss of US$17 million or 5 cents a share in the quarter to end-December.
Hedge book commitments by AngloGold were reduced by a further 154,000 ounces, the group said in a statement.
First quarter production was at 1.103 million ounces, in line with AngloGold's guidance, and was lower than the 1.268 million ounces the group produced in the December quarter.
Fundamentals support gold in a US$850 to US$1,000 a troy ounce range this year, with the possibility the price could move above the top end of that range next year, the chief executive of AngloGold Ashanti said Friday.
"My view is that the gold price will remain strong," Mark Cutifani told reporters during a conference call following the release of the company's first-quarter results.
With a number of governments pumping huge amounts of money into their economies in an effort to stimulate growth, "the threat of inflation is real," Cutifani said.
"The improved earnings are due to higher spot gold prices, a lower hedge discount and weaker local operating currencies," Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said.


