Johannesburg - Anglo American planned to expand operations in commodities such as copper and iron ore to take advantage of rising prices, the mining firm said yesterday as it unveiled earnings that lagged competitors'.
Net attributable profit for the six months to June fell 17 percent to $1.84 billion (R11.9 billion), Anglo said, after the sale of its Gold Fields stake boosted the year-earlier figures.
First-half headline earnings climbed 43 percent to a record $1.78 billion, or $1.24 a share, in line with analysts' forecasts.
By contrast, analysts expect bigger rival BHP Billiton to post an 85 percent gain in profit for the 12 months to June, according to Thomson Financial.
Finance director Tony Lea said Anglo had cut annual costs in the first half by $303 million and expected to beat a full-year target of $350 million.
It boosted its dividend by 47 percent to $0.28 a share.
Margins were cut by gains in the rand, which is 86 percent up against the dollar since 2001. Chief executive Tony Trahar said the company was "looking for more acquisitions".
Since moving from Johannesburg to London in 1999 Anglo has sold assets from banks to wine farms as it cut dependence on South Africa and precious metals while increasing output of industrial metals. Still, 19 percent of its first-half operating income came from gold and platinum, which rose less this year than copper and iron ore.
Wayne McCurrie, the chief strategist at Advantage Asset Management, said: "It wouldn't amaze me if they made a major base metals acquisition. It's the big shortfall in their portfolio."
The price of gold has gained 11 percent in the past 12 months and platinum has risen 10 percent, while iron ore has surged 72 percent and copper has jumped 27 percent.
"The sectors we are in at the moment have not performed as well as other sectors," Trahar said from London yesterday.
Much of the increase in first-half profit is accounted for by the $1.3 billion purchase of Chilean copper mines from Exxon Mobil in 2002.
Anwaar Wagner, a mining analyst at Old Mutual Asset Managers, said Anglo was "not in the exciting commodities to the same extent" as BHP.
Trahar said second-half profit should "remain strong".
While BHP's shares are up 36 percent this year, Anglo has risen 18 percent. Its share dipped 5c to R168.45 yesterday, while the JSE mining sector rose 0.34 percent.