ii view: Anglo American performance tarnished by De Beers

Full year results to 31 December

• Adjusted profits (EBITDA) up 2% to $6.42 billion (£4.76 billion)
• Loss attributable to equity shareholders of $3.74 billion, up from a loss of $3 billion last year
• Final dividend of $0.16 per share
• Total dividend for the year down 64% to $0.23 per share
• Net debt of $8.6 billion, down from $10.6 billion

Chief executive Duncan Wanblad said:

"2025 was a transformational year for Anglo American as we progressed our portfolio simplification and set the course for the future of our company by agreeing to merge with Teck to form a global critical minerals champion - as Anglo Teck.

“We continue to progress the sale of our Steelmaking Coal business, the agreed sale of our Nickel business is moving through regulatory approval, and we are progressing the separation of De Beers.”

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ii round-up:

Anglo American (LSE:AAL) today reported annual 2025 adjusted profit that beat City hopes, with both the declared dividend and decline in group net debt an improvement on forecasts. 

Profit gains at its core copper and premium iron ore commodities pushed adjusted profit up 2% to $6.42 billion (£4.76 billion). A $2.3 billion write-down in the value of its De Beers diamond business due to lower forecast prices and customer shift towards laboratory-grown diamonds, saw losses attributable to shareholders rise to $3.74 billion from a $3 billion loss the year before. 

Shares in the FTSE 100 company rose 1% in UK trading having come into this latest news up around 16% so far in 2026. The FTSE 100 index is up 7% year-to-date. Fellow diversified miner Glencore (LSE:GLEN) and its failed merger partner Rio Tinto Ordinary Shares (LSE:RIO) are up by close to a quarter. 

Having previously fended off a takeover attempt from BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP), Anglo American is driving a transformation programme to simplify its commodity portfolio towards copper, iron ore and crop nutrients as well progressing a merger with Canada’s Teck Resources.

Proceeds from Anglo’s previous sale of its remaining Valterra Platinum shareholding helped cut group net debt to $8.6 billion from $10.6 billion in 2024. Analysts had expected $9.6 billion. 

Interests in Platinum metals have been sold, with an exit from the De Beers diamond business still underway. 

A policy to pay out 40% of earnings generated a final dividend of $0.16 per share, leaving the total payment for the year down 64% at $0.23 per share. That exceeded forecasts of $0.22 per share.

Copper production for 2025 of 695 thousand tonnes (kt) fell 10% from 2024, but is forecast to rise to as much as 760 kt in 2026, 810 kt in 2027 and 860 kt in 2028.  

Iron ore output of 61 million tonnes (mt) in 2025 was little changed year-over-year, although is estimated by management to hit a possible 63 mt in 2027. 

A first-quarter 2026 production update is scheduled for 28 April.   

ii view:

Anglo’s broad strategic push remains focused on becoming a responsible producer of copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients, items essential to decarbonise the global economy and improving both living standards and food security. Copper generated most adjusted profit (EBITDA) in 2025 at $3.98 billion. That was followed by Premium Iron ore at $2.87 billion and Manganese at $127 million. Crop Nutrients made a loss of $66 million and De Beers a loss of $511 million.

For investors, , the current push to transform and enhance shareholder value will see the diversity of commodities provided reduced. A forecast price/earnings (PE) ratio above the three-year average may suggest the shares are not obviously cheap. Factors outside of management’s control such as the weather can hinder production, while Anglo’s prospective dividend yield of under 1% is less than rivals Rio and BHP at over 3.5%.

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More favourably, the agreed merger with Teck to form AngloTeck is expected to generate an average annual uplift in adjusted profit of over $1 billion. A focus on improving efficiency could see run-rate cost savings of $1.8 billion by the end of 2025. Geographical diversity in terms of customer sales is not to be ignored, while exposure to food security and fertiliser ingredient potash adds an agricultural and population growth dimension. 

In all, a sizeable re-rating of the miner’s valuation over the last year despite ongoing reported losses provide some caution. That said, exposure to vital commodities and an ongoing merger with Teck, will likely make Anglo American one for investors to consider. 

Positives: 

• Emphasis on shareholder value
• Focus on costs

Negatives:

• Uncertain economic outlook
• Subject to currency movements

The average rating of stock market analysts:

Strong hold