* H1 operating profit $3.7 bln vs $4 bln forecast
* Falling prices amount to $1.8 billion hit
* First production at Minas Rio delayed at least 12 months
* Says still assessing cost impact of Minas Rio trouble
* Shares top FTSE loser list, down over 4 pct
By Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) – Anglo American posted a
steeper-than-expected drop in profits as faltering global
economic growth hit prices, and the miner sparked further
disappointment with a delay of at least 12 months for its
trouble-prone Brazilian iron ore project.
Weaker prices for key commodities and stubbornly high costs
which have squeezed margins have battered the major miners that
have reported results so far. Brazil’s Vale posted
its worst earnings in two years earlier this week.
Anglo, the first UK-listed mining major to report first-half
earnings, came in below market forecasts with a 38 percent drop
in operating profit to $3.7 billion, a miss analysts attributed
to still-rising costs and a poor coal performance in particular.
Continued…
