Anglo American shares are diving after the company released a catastrophic set of results
Shares in Anglo American - the enormous commodities firm, and the world's biggest miner of platinum - are tanking on Tuesday afternoon after the company released a predictably awful set of results this morning, blaming, in part, the slowdown in China.
Shares soared in early trading, jumping as much as 5.6% at the market open, but have since started to slide, and just after 1:00 p.m. GMT (8:00 a.m. ET) the company's stock is trading at £3.743 ($5.40), a fall of just less than 5%. Here's how that looks:
In it's yearly results, Anglo not only reported a loss of $5.4 billion (£3.74 billion), but also announced further details of the "radical" restructuring first brought to light in December. The company plans to sell between $5 - 6 billion (£3.47 - £4.16 billion) of assets, and reduce its core staff from 11,500 to just 5,000.
Part of the company's struggle has been down to the slump in the price of diamonds, which it is highly involved in through its De Beers subsidiary. Garry White from stockbroker Charles Stanley said of the results:
"Today's figures show price weakness over 2015, as demand waned. Operating profit at the operation slumped by 58% to $571m during the year. This was the result of weaker rough diamond demand and lower revenue, offset in part by tight cost control and favourable exchange rates. Diamonds are priced in dollars and the South African currency has been particularly weak, proving something of a cushion."
Anglo isn't the first miner to release horrific results in February. Last week, Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner reported a loss of $866 million (£600 million), and 2015 earnings of around half of what it brought in during 2014.