Anglo American (LON:AAL) used its 2025 results presentation to outline what leadership described as a “transformational” year marked by major portfolio changes, ongoing cost reduction efforts, and continued work to complete its proposed merger with Teck to form “Anglo Tech.” Executives also addressed safety performance, operational developments across key assets, and the outlook for 2026 amid a simplified business increasingly focused on copper and premium iron ore.
Safety performance and fatalities
Chair Stuart Chambers opened the presentation by reiterating that safety remains the company’s “very first value and number one priority.” The company recorded its lowest ever total recordable injury frequency rate in 2025, but both Chambers and CEO Duncan Wanblad noted two workplace fatalities during the year, which they called tragic and unacceptable.
Strategic shift: portfolio changes and the planned Anglo Tech merger
Management emphasized progress on portfolio optimization in 2025, highlighting the demerger of its PGMs business, Valterra, and the full sell-down of Anglo American’s residual 19.99% stake. Wanblad said the sell-downs raised approximately $2.5 billion and supported deleveraging.
Anglo American also described progress toward its proposed merger with Teck, announced in September, to create “Anglo Tech,” which management positioned as a global critical minerals and copper champion. Wanblad said shareholder support has been strong and that several regulatory approvals have been secured, including under Canada’s Investment Canada Act. Remaining regulatory processes include South Korea and China, which he said are “on track.”
Wanblad reiterated expectations for completion about 12–18 months from the announcement, putting the estimated closing window between September 2026 and March 2027. He also said a $4.5 billion special dividend is expected to be payable to Anglo American shareholders of record around completion. When asked about U.S. approvals, Wanblad said all required approvals applied for have been received, with only South Korea and China outstanding.
Operational highlights: copper and iron ore
Wanblad said the company’s copper and iron ore businesses performed well and delivered 2025 production guidance, alongside effective cost control. He highlighted growing operational stability and a shift toward local accountability as cultural drivers of performance.
In copper, Wanblad said Collahuasi is expected to move through a lower grade phase in 2026, with a “significant” improvement expected from 2027 as it accesses fresh ore in the Rosario pit. He also pointed to benefits from a reset to the Los Bronces mine plan, including restored optionality and flexibility, and strong progress on the Donoso Two phase, described as higher grade with slightly softer ores.
Wanblad said Anglo American has restarted the second plant at Los Bronces given the current copper price environment, with the plant expected to deliver cash-generative production during 2026. However, he said it will need to shut again at year-end due to water requirements linked to tailings dam work to align with Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) commitments, specifically at the Perez Caldera tailings dam. He added the company expects more flexibility to restart the plant permanently as Los Bronces and Andina are combined closer to the end of the decade.
At Quellaveco, Wanblad said throughput exceeded design capacity and that the mine is positioned to generate high cash flow, operating stably at around 300,000 tons of copper per year in the coming years. He also said Quellaveco is on track to achieve capital payback in 2026, four years after first production.
In iron ore, Wanblad said Kumba’s UH DMS tie-in at Sishen is progressing to plan and on budget, with production expected to be down around 4 million tons during 2026 due to the DMS plant being offline during the tie-in. He said stockpiles should support sustained sales volumes comparable to 2025 levels. Wanblad also cited Minas Rio as a “star” performer, with production broadly flat year-over-year despite a planned pipeline inspection in August. He noted this performance will be important as the mine transitions to more variable feed from 2028 onward, and said work to integrate DR-grade serpentinite resources to supplement production in 2030 is progressing.
Financial results: simplified portfolio strength offset by De Beers losses
Finance director John Heasley said the company delivered on production and cost guidance, achieved its $1.8 billion cost-out program, and reduced working capital further. He acknowledged that reporting remains complex due to portfolio transformation, with continuing operations including the end-state simplified business and De Beers, while discontinued operations include PGMs up to the May demerger as well as steelmaking coal and nickel.
- Continuing operations: EBITDA of $6.4 billion and earnings of $0.9 billion.
- Simplified portfolio (copper and premium iron ore): EBITDA of $6.9 billion, a 44% EBITDA margin, and underlying earnings of $1.6 billion.
- De Beers: EBITDA loss of $0.5 billion.
- Discontinued operations: $0.1 billion of EBITDA and an underlying loss of $0.3 billion; statutory loss was $2.5 billion, driven in part by a $2.2 billion loss on the PGMs demerger.
Heasley reported underlying earnings per share of $0.54 and full-year dividends of $0.23 per share, in line with a 40% payout policy. The board declared a final dividend of $0.16 per share, payable following shareholder approval in early May.
Within the simplified portfolio, Heasley said EBITDA rose 9% year-over-year to $6.9 billion despite a 4% decline in production, citing higher realized prices and cost discipline. Production was impacted primarily by lower grades and recoveries at Collahuasi and reduced throughput at Los Bronces while its smaller plant was on care and maintenance. Copper contributed $4.0 billion of EBITDA and premium iron ore $2.9 billion. Return on capital was 17%.
Heasley said the effective tax rate for continuing operations was 52%, largely due to De Beers; the simplified portfolio tax rate was 39%, and long-term guidance excluding De Beers remains 38%–42%.
On costs, Heasley said copper benefited from lower treatment and refining charges, and Quellaveco delivered unit costs of $0.89 per pound. Premium iron ore unit costs were broadly flat at Kumba, while Minas Rio incurred higher costs related to pipeline inspection activities. He also emphasized a focus on total costs, with the total cost base up 1% year-over-year.
Heasley said Anglo American realized $600 million of gross cost savings in 2025 and now stands at $1.6 billion of realized savings against its $1.8 billion goal, with the final $0.2 billion expected in 2026. He also noted that the head office transformation program supported costs and resulted in a 21% headcount reduction.
De Beers: challenging market, impairment, and exit process
Heasley said De Beers faced continued challenging market conditions driven by lab-grown diamonds, U.S. tariffs, and increased supply. While De Beers increased sales volumes and reduced unit costs by 8%, lower pricing led to a $500 million EBITDA loss. He said De Beers reduced inventory by $0.9 billion during the year and kept the business broadly cash breakeven, leaving midstream inventory at “broadly normalized” levels.
As part of year-end processes, Anglo American recognized a $2.3 billion impairment for De Beers within special items, reflecting updated views on near-term macroeconomic and industry challenges, including an extended period of lower rough diamond prices, slower differentiation between lab-grown and natural markets, weak China demand, and increased supply. Heasley said the carrying value of De Beers as a whole is now $2.3 billion, with Anglo American’s attributable share at $1.9 billion. In the Q&A, Heasley clarified the $2.3 billion figure is on an enterprise value basis.
Wanblad said Anglo American is prioritizing a strategic sale rather than a demerger in the current market environment, though the option to list De Beers in the future remains. He told investors discussions are in advanced stages with a select group of strategic parties and that conversations with the government of Botswana are constructive and important to the process. Wanblad also said sale consideration could involve structured proceeds, such as upfront and contingent payments, given the potential for cash negativity during a downturn. When asked about bidders, he said all are consortia; some include governments and some do not, and a transaction could potentially involve selling the stake in multiple parts.
Looking ahead, Heasley guided to higher 2026 unit costs in copper (around $1.72 per pound versus $1.50) and premium iron ore (around $41 per ton), driven mainly by stronger producer currency assumptions and production mix. He also said the company expects about $0.2 billion of restructuring and merger costs in 2026 and noted a one-off non-cash net debt impact of $0.5 billion related to lease liabilities for the Los Bronces Integrated Water Solution project.
About Anglo American (LON:AAL)
Anglo American is a leading global mining company focused on the responsible production of copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients – future-enabling products that are essential for decarbonising the global economy, improving living standards, and food security. Our portfolio of world-class operations and outstanding resource endowments offers value-accretive growth potential across all three businesses, positioning us to deliver into structurally attractive major demand growth trends.
Our integrated approach to sustainability and innovation drives our decision-making across the value chain, from how we discover new resources to how we mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely, efficiently and responsibly.
