KUMBA IRON ORE LIMITED The company delivered a strong performance in the first half of the year, with EBITDA of R17.4 billion at a margin of 55%. We are a resilient and capital efficient business with a robust balance sheet, well positioned to navigate the current environment and the longer term.
'The safety and health of our employees and contractors has always been our first priority. We have now marked four years of being fatality-free. In these unprecedented times it is even more critical to safeguard both lives and livelihoods and support the ecosystem in which we operate. We have implemented an extensive WeCare programme across four pillars of physical health, mental health, living with dignity, and community response that supports our workforce, communities and suppliers. In practice, this programme includes screening and testing, workforce education and communication, mental health support, contingency plans to ensure social distancing at work and to allow for periods of self-isolation, as well as remote working. We are contributing to our local communities by providing essential services such as water, healthcare, and medical services in partnership with the
'Kumba's production of 17.9 Mt and sales of 18.6 Mt were in line with our Covid-19 adjusted guidance for the first half of the year, following continued improvements as we returned to pre-Covid-19 run-rates in June. Our strong EBITDA performance translated into R7.1 billion of attributable free cash flow. Taking into account our strong earnings, the resilience required for our new operating conditions, and need for a robust balance sheet, the Board declared an interim cash dividend of R19.60 per share, representing a payout ratio of 75% of headline earnings.
'We remain committed to our strategic imperatives of margin enhancement and life extension which are key to our sustainability. Our margin continued to benefit from constructive market prices and currency weakness, as well as the early and decisive action taken to protect our margin through additional cash preservation measures including delivering R700 million in cost savings for the year to date.
'Kumba has been through challenging times before and we know how to respond. Our approach to navigating the pandemic is based on ensuring the resilience of our business, living our values of care and respect, and fulfilling our purpose to reimagine mining to improve people's lives. We are building on our strategy to further strengthen our business and ensure that we remain agile, resilient and able to meet the challenges that we face.'
Contact:
Ms
Tel: +27 683 7063
Email: celeste.appollis@angloamerican.com
Notes to editors
Anglo American is a leading global mining company and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, development projects and undeveloped resources, provides many of the metals and minerals that enable a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing consumer-driven demands of developed and maturing economies. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers - and to discover new resources - safely and sustainably.
As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, the steelmaking ingredients of iron ore and metallurgical coal, and nickel - with crop nutrients in development and thermal coal operations planned for divestment - we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock sustainable value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people's lives.
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