(Financial Times) — Anglo American set the sombre tone. Falling prices and rising costs enfeebled the mining group’s businesses in the first half of the year, halving earnings.
First among its diversified cadre to report, the miner last month pruned its spending plans on high-profile growth projects. It is now — as earnings season approaches its conclusion — a familiar tale. The mining industry faces a number of negative factors that are squeezing earnings, curtailing cash flows and forcing management teams to make tougher choices.
The backdrop to the lacklustre results is the concern over whether the so-called “supercycle” is drawing to a close after years of surging Chinese demand combining with supply constraints from decades of under-investment to send prices higher for commodities such as copper, coal and iron ore.
BHP shelves Olympic Dam expansion The debate is crucial to mining companies and their investors. Over the long term, the performance of mining equities is largely correlated with commodity price fluctuations. Increases in costs, especially wages and payments to governments, tend to lag behind booming profits as prices rise, putting severe pressure on the sector’s profitability.