AngloGold Boosts Dividend, Accelerates Debt Payments

Bloomberg reports that after a decision to eliminate gold hedges increased spare funds, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (JNB:ANG) increased its dividend and paid back debt earlier than expected.

The market news is quoted as saying:

Cash flow from operations, excluding the cost of buying back hedges, surged 60 percent to $679 million in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, and rose 46 percent from a year earlier, the company said today in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani is using the extra funds to “sensibly kick up” dividends, repay debt and expand production, he told reporters on a call from Johannesburg, where the company is based. Cutifani spent about $6 billion over three years to cancel hedges by Oct. 7.

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