[miningmx.com] — ANGLOGOLD Ashanti said on Tuesday it expected first-quarter earnings to triple, after the company eliminated its hedge book last year.
AngloGold also said in a statement it remained on track to produce 1.039 million ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2011.
“AngloGold Ashanti is pleased to report that strong performances from its operations in continental Africa and the Americas during the first quarter helped claw back much of the 20,000 ounces of production lost due to unprecedented rainfall at its Sunrise Dam mine in Australia,” it said.
Gold output in the previous quarter was a bit higher at 1.148 million ounces but domestic operations for South African gold miners are often hard hit in the March quarter because of the slow reboot after the Christmas break.
Headline earnings per share was seen at 62 cents versus 21 cents in the previous quarter.
“Improved cash flow per ounce of production, following the elimination of all hedge contracts, has also made possible a further 15 percent reduction in net debt during the quarter from $1.3 billion to $1.1 billion,” it said.
The group will report its quarterly earnings on May 11.
Its rivals Harmony Gold and Gold Fields have already said they see production down in the quarter. Harmony is the first of South Africa’s “Big 3” to report for the March quarter with its results published on Thursday.
