Anglo American Earnings Rise
Anglo American reported a 76 percent increase in annual profit as it increased production capacity and benefited from higher metal prices. It also said it would buy back $3 billion worth of its shares. Anglo said profit for 2006 came to nearly $6.2 billion, up from $3.52 billion the previous year. Revenue rose 12 percent, to $38.6 billion. Excluding one-time items, Anglo’s profit rose 46 percent, to $5.5 billion. The company did not break out quarterly results. ”Our strong performance was due to increased production across the majority of our businesses and higher prices, in particular for base metals, platinum and iron ore,” the chief executive, Tony Trahar, said. Operating profit from gold rose 41 percent, the company said. Operating profit from diamonds was down 21 percent.
