De Beers Second-largest Contributor to Anglo’s Profit

Mineweb reported that De Beers has emerged as the second-largest contributor to Anglo American plc’s (LSE:AAL) profit, after copper.

As quoted in the market news:

Diamond company De Beers, once a niche business for global miner Anglo American, is rapidly rising to become the jewel in its crown – with a brighter outlook than many of its metals.

The division’s profit leapt by more than a third in 2014 at the same time as its parent company Anglo saw earnings drop by ao bout a quarter, hammered by a dive in prices of metals such as iron, copper and coal.

It overtook copper last year to become the second-largest contributor to group profit, fast closing the gap with the flagship iron ore business.

De Beers CFO Gareth Mostyn stated:

The fact that we performed well in 2014, a year that has been difficult for many of Anglo’s other businesses because of (weak) commodity prices really is a testament to the diversified business model that Anglo has.

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