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Diamonds boost Anglo
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March 22, 2000: 9:02 a.m. ET
S. Africa's Anglo American beats expectations, rules out De Beers sale
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Mining group Anglo American, the world's largest gold producer, posted a 13 percent rise in 1999 earnings Wednesday and painted a bullish picture for this year as commodity prices continue to recover.
South African-based Anglo, which has a 32 percent stake in the prestigious De Beers diamond trader and listed in London last year, said profit rose to $1.308 billion before exceptional charges, from $1.159 billion the previous year.
The result beat the $1.18 billion consensus among analysts polled by Reuters. Anglo (ANL) shares rose 2 percent in London.
The key drivers in 1999 were a 45 percent rise in operating profit at the company's Amplats platinum unit while the profit contribution from De Beers rose 66 percent.
The base metals division also improved, but gold - the largest unit by sales - posted an 8 percent fall in operating earnings, reflecting a sharp slide in gold prices last year as central banks reduced their bullion reserves by selling gold on the market.
Anglo's  coal unit also had a poor year as prices sank to their lowest-ever levels in real terms, with operating profit down 31 percent. However, Anglo said it had no plans to follow the lead of rival Billiton (BLT) which cut output earlier this week.
Anglo's Finance Director Tony Lea said Anglo would push ahead with the sale of non-core industrial and financial businesses during 2000 and 2001, saying the company was still on the lookout for acquisitions following its $2 billion purchase of U.K. building materials firm Tarmac last year.
However, he ruled out selling Anglo's stake in De Beers, which he said was highly profitable and remained a core investment. De Beers, which in turn has a 37 percent holding in Anglo, said last month that it would consider selling the shares to fund future investments. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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Anglo American
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