Wrap Text
AngloGold Ashanti Production up 17% - Costs down 22%
AngloGold Ashanti Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Reg. No. 1944/017354/06)
ISIN No. ZAE000043485 – JSE share code: ANG
CUSIP: 035128206 – NYSE share code: AU
19 May 2014
NEWS RELEASE
AngloGold Ashanti Production up 17%; Costs down 22%
(JOHANNESBURG, 19 May 2014) -- AngloGold Ashanti today posted a strong set of results, beating
first-quarter production and cost guidance, as operating performance and cost initiatives continue to
reposition the business. Adjusted headline earnings were $119m, or 29 US cents per share.
“Our operators have delivered another strong performance and we continue to manage costs
aggressively,” Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer of AngloGold Ashanti, said.
“There’s still plenty of work to do, but with a strong team intact, a good foundation, and some
significant wins under our belt, we remain focused on continuing to deliver positive results to our
shareholders under tough market conditions.”
First-quarter production of 1.06Moz at a total cash cost of $770/oz, was the strongest first quarter
performance in four years, compared with guidance of 950,000oz to 1Moz at a total cash cost of
$800/oz to $850/oz. AngloGold Ashanti’s all-in sustaining cost, which includes sustaining capital
expenditure, as well as corporate and exploration costs, declined by 22% to $993/oz. The 17% rise in
production year-on-year and 22% decline in costs were aided by the continued ramp-up of the two
new, low-cost Kibali and Tropicana mines, together with ongoing efficiency improvements across the
company.
Over the past 18 months, AngloGold Ashanti has taken decisive steps to adapt to the sharp decline in
the gold price and more volatile market conditions. Corporate and exploration costs have more than
halved, the company is on track to realise its targeted $500m in annualised operating cost savings by
year-end, and capital expenditure has been further rationalised. None of these actions have
compromised the long term outlook for the business and the company continues to invest in the
expansion of its Cripple Creek & Victor mine in the US, extending the life of its Mponeng mine in
South Africa, and supporting a focused, high quality project and exploration portfolio.
Tragically, one employee fatality was recorded at the Mponeng Project in South Africa and two
contractor fatalities occurred at the vent shaft at the Cuiabá Mine in Brazil. The company remains
committed to eliminating fatalities at its mines through sustained and focused safety interventions,
which last year resulted in a 50% reduction in fatal incidents and enabled 80% of our operations to set
new safety records. The first quarter All Injury Frequency Rate of 7.76 is the best first quarter
performance on record.
At the Obuasi mine in Ghana, AngloGold Ashanti has progressed a range of interventions to address
historic underperformance and the high cost structure, but substantial further work is required to
establish a sustainable future for the mine. Commenting on these initiatives, Venkat said “we have
now developed a good working partnership with the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Mineworkers
Union and other key stakeholders to address the challenges facing Obuasi. We must do all we can to
stop the current cash outflows at Obuasi and define a sustainable future – and we appreciate the
support of our partners in taking the decisive action necessary to achieve this.”
AngloGold Ashanti’s net debt declined modestly to $3.095bn, signaling that the company generated
positive free cash flow. Chief Financial Officer Richard Duffy commented: “As the business moves to
positive free cash flow generation and given the current uncertain gold price environment, we remain
focused on our financial flexibility. Overall debt levels and interest burden remain high relative to
historic levels, but we have made good progress to pro-actively diversify our funding sources and
extend our maturity profile.”
ENDS
Sponsor: UBS South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Contacts
Media
Chris Nthite +27 (0) 11 637 6388/+27 (0) 83 301 2481 cnthite@anglogoldashanti.com
Stewart Bailey +27 81 032 2563 / +27 11 637 6031 sbailey@anglogoldashanti.com
General inquiries media@anglogoldashanti.com
Investors
Stewart Bailey +27 81 032 2563 / +27 11 637 6031 sbailey@anglogoldashanti.com
Sabrina Brockman (US & Canada) +1 (212) 858 7702 / +1 646 379 2555 sbrockman@anglogoldashanti.com
Fundisa Mgidi (South Africa) +27 11 637 6763 / +27 82 821 5322 fmgidi@anglogoldashanti.com
General inquiries investors@anglogoldashanti.com
Certain statements contained in this document, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those
concerning the economic outlook for the gold mining industry, expectations regarding gold prices, production, cash costs,
all-in sustaining costs, cost savings and other operating results, return on equity, productivity improvements, growth
prospects and outlook of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations, individually or in the aggregate, including the achievement of
project milestones, commencement and completion of commercial operations of certain of AngloGold Ashanti’s exploration
and production projects and the completion of acquisitions and dispositions, AngloGold Ashanti’s liquidity and capital
resources and capital expenditures and the outcome and consequences of any potential or pending litigation or regulatory
proceedings or environmental, health and safety issues, are forward-looking statements regarding AngloGold Ashanti’s
operations, economic performance and financial condition. These forward-looking statements or forecasts involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause AngloGold Ashanti’s actual results, performance or
achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in these
forward-looking statements. Although AngloGold Ashanti believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements and forecasts are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been
correct. Accordingly, results could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of,
among other factors, changes in economic, social and political and market conditions, the success of business and
operating initiatives, changes in the regulatory environment and other government actions, including environmental
approvals, fluctuations in gold prices and exchange rates, the outcome of pending or future litigation proceedings, and
business and operational risk management. For a discussion of such risk factors, refer to AngloGold Ashanti’s annual report
on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 that was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”) on 14 April 2014. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause
AngloGold Ashanti’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Other
unknown or unpredictable factors could also have material adverse effects on future results. Consequently, readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. AngloGold Ashanti undertakes no obligation to update
publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by applicable law. All subsequent written
or oral forward-looking statements attributable to AngloGold Ashanti or any person acting on its behalf are qualified by the
cautionary statements herein.
Date: 19/05/2014 08:01:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of
the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
Sharenet Sites 
