Antofagasta and Anglo American soar on strong production results
SHARES in Anglo American and Antofagasta both soared over five per cent yesterday, after stellar fourth-quarter production updates pleased investors in both the FTSE 100-quoted miners.
Anglo American reported a 25 per cent increase in iron ore production over the period, while copper output rose by 24 per cent to a record 214,4000 tonnes, beating analysts’ expectations.
Diamond production went up 13 per cent, but metallurgical coal fell four per cent due to lower demand and weather interruptions.
Antofagasta’s copper production also beat analysts’ estimates, rising 4.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, resulting in a record year of copper output of 721,200 tonnes.
Gold production met guidance but fell 6.4 per cent on the third quarter due to lower output from the Esperanza mine.
“2013 has been a challenging year in which we experienced an increase in costs across a number of our operations as well as weaker commodity prices,” said Diego Hernandez, chief executive of the Chilean miner. “This year we remain focused on controlling our cost base whilst achieving the most from our operations.