Anglo wants to cut debt to below $10 billion by year-end, from $12.9 billion in December, to reassure investors it can survive lower raw-material prices.
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However, the under-pressure group made in-roads on net debt which it reduced $1.2bn to $11.7bn by dint of a healthy increase in free cash flow of $1.1bn, a $900m improvement year-on-year and far better than the $400m forecast in February.
Cutifani described the performance in sporting terms saying they “were ahead of half time”, adding the company knew it had to “play the full 80 minutes (rugby union), but adding “… Sales fell 20 percent to $10.6 billion.
The company earlier this year said it expects to sell $3 billion to $4 billion in assets this year it launches a sweeping restructuring plan. In April, the miner agreed to sell its Brazilian niobium and phosphate unit to China Molybdenum Company for $1.5 billion and is in talks to offload coal mines in Australia.
Diamonds were a big driver of first-half earnings, accounting for 42% of earnings before interest and taxes. Underlying earnings per share were $0.54, compared to $0.70 past year.
This was only partly offset by weaker producer country currencies ($0,9 billion impact), in particular a 29 percent weakening of the South African rand against the U.S. dollar. The goal, he said, was “zero harm” and the firm would continue to work towards that.
Cutifani said Anglo American had lowered copper equivalent costs by 19 percent compared with the first half previous year, bringing the total reduction since 2012 to 36 percent.
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Underlying earnings for the six months to June fell to $US698 million from $US904 million a year earlier, the London-based company said on Thursday. Mr. Cutifani said the company plans to reduce its mining businesses to 16 from 45, sales that will help cut its staff by more than half.
