JOHANNESBURG — Anglo Gold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest bullion producer, cut its dividend in half as it reported a 6% drop in third quarter earnings yesterday in the face of a fall in production from wildcat strikes at its South African mines.
Report by Reuters
The South Africa-based miner with global operations said adjusted headline earnings were 61c compared to 65c in the previous quarter, lower than the mean average of 65,5c from a Reuters poll of six analysts.
It declared a quarterly dividend of 6c, half the 12c a share handed out in the previous quarter.
Production dropped 6% to 1,03 million ounces and it cut capital expenditure cut by $200 million to between $2 billion and $2,1 billion as it moved to counter the impact of the South African strike and ensure financial flexibility.
As of November 2, AngloGold Ashanti estimated the strike had cost about 250 000 ounces of lost production.
