Anglo American half-year results 2026: copper drives 35% EBITDA rise

Anglo American PLC delivered a substantial improvement in underlying profitability during the first half of 2026, helped by favourable copper prices, cost savings and a recovery in manganese.

The mining group is also moving forward with its major restructuring. It has agreed to sell Steelmaking Coal, is advancing the De Beers sale and is preparing for its planned merger with Teck.

The underlying performance was strong, but the statutory numbers still showed a $0.9 billion shareholder loss. That largely reflects a reduction in the carrying value of Steelmaking Coal following the agreed sale terms.

Anglo American's key half-year figures

Metric	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Continuing operations revenue	$9.93 billion	$8.95 billion	11%
Continuing operations underlying EBITDA	$4.00 billion	$2.96 billion	35%
EBITDA margin	38%	32%	6 percentage points
Attributable free cash flow	$803 million	$322 million	149%
Basic underlying EPS from continuing operations	$0.77	$0.32	141%
Attributable ROCE	15%	9%	6 percentage points
Loss attributable to shareholders	$858 million	$1.88 billion	54% lower
Interim dividend per share	$0.23	$0.07	229%

Underlying EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, adjusted for certain items. It is useful for comparing operating performance, although investors should also consider statutory profit and cash flow.

Copper did the heavy lifting

Copper is becoming the backbone of Anglo American's simplified portfolio, and the first-half performance shows why.

Copper underlying EBITDA increased by 67% to $2.94 billion, representing almost three-quarters of continuing operations EBITDA. The segment achieved a 60% EBITDA margin, up from 48% a year earlier.

This improvement was mainly price-driven. The average copper market price rose 39%, while Anglo American's realised copper price reached 608 cents per pound in both Chile and Peru.

Copper production was broadly flat at 344,000 tonnes. Chilean production increased by 5%, helped by the restart of the second processing plant at Los Bronces. That was offset by a 5% decline at Quellaveco in Peru, where lower ore grades had been anticipated.

The lack of production growth matters because it shows that much of the earnings uplift came from external pricing rather than a major increase in output. That is excellent when copper markets are favourable, but it also leaves profits exposed if prices weaken.

Anglo American maintained its 2026 copper production guidance of 390,000-420,000 tonnes for Chile and 310,000-340,000 tonnes for Peru. Production is expected to be weighted towards the second half.

Iron ore margins moved backwards

Premium Iron Ore provided a less convincing performance.

Underlying EBITDA fell by 17% to $1.17 billion, with the EBITDA margin dropping from 44% to 35%. Production declined by 2% to 30.6 million tonnes.

Kumba's unit costs increased from $39 to $46 per tonne, affected by the stronger South African rand, fuel inflation and lower production. Minas-Rio's unit costs rose from $29 to $33 per tonne, mainly because of the stronger Brazilian real and inflationary pressure.

This is an important counterweight to the copper result. Anglo American controlled costs at group level, but it is not immune to currency movements and mining input inflation.

Manganese was more positive. Production rose 52% to 1.7 million tonnes as operations recovered from disruption associated with tropical cyclone Megan. The business generated $98 million of EBITDA, compared with an $11 million loss previously.

De Beers remains a problem to solve

Rough diamond production increased by 46% to 14.9 million carats, but trading conditions remained challenging.

De Beers recorded an underlying EBITDA loss of $113 million, although this improved from a $189 million loss. Management attributed the progress to a move from trading losses to trading profits and strong cost control.

Anglo American is advancing the De Beers sale while looking for ways to streamline costs and reduce capital expenditure. That should help limit the financial impact of weak diamond markets, but the timing and value of a disposal were not disclosed.

Until a sale is completed, De Beers remains part of continuing operations for accounting purposes and continues to dilute the stronger profitability generated by copper and iron ore.

Cash flow and debt improved

Attributable free cash flow rose from $322 million to $803 million. Operating cash flow increased to $3.52 billion, while capital expenditure declined from $1.59 billion to $1.49 billion.

Net debt fell from $8.57 billion at the end of 2025 to $8.23 billion. The continuing operations net debt to EBITDA ratio improved from 1.3 times to 1.0 times.

Liquidity was also substantial at $15.5 billion, comprising $8.9 billion of cash and cash equivalents and $6.6 billion of undrawn committed facilities.

This gives Anglo American a firmer financial position while it works through its disposals and merger preparations. However, net debt remains meaningful, and discontinued operations used $167 million during the period.

Why Anglo American still reported a loss

Despite stronger underlying earnings, Anglo American reported an $858 million loss attributable to shareholders.

The main issue was a $0.9 billion impairment of Steelmaking Coal, equal to $0.7 billion after tax, following the agreement to sell the business to Dhilmar.

The disposal could deliver up to $3.88 billion in cash, including $2.3 billion upfront. The remaining potential payments depend on future coal prices, so the maximum consideration is not guaranteed.

Continuing operations also recorded $0.5 billion of special items and remeasurements after tax and non-controlling interests. These included deferred tax linked to planned internal distributions, alongside Teck integration, transaction and restructuring costs.

The statutory loss therefore looks considerably weaker than the underlying operating performance, but investors should not ignore it. Portfolio simplification has accounting and transaction costs, even if management expects the eventual structure to be stronger.

Dividend rises with underlying earnings

The board approved an interim dividend of $0.23 per share, up from $0.07. The total payment is approximately $0.2 billion.

That represents 40% of first-half underlying earnings, in line with Anglo American's established payout policy. The rise is welcome, but the policy also means future dividends will remain closely tied to commodity prices and operational earnings.

The Teck merger is the next major milestone

Integration planning for the proposed Teck merger is described as well-advanced. Anglo American continues to target completion within its original September 2026 to March 2027 window.

Chinese anti-trust approval is the final outstanding regulatory milestone. No completion certainty or detailed updated synergy figures were disclosed in this announcement.

For investors, execution is now crucial. Anglo American must complete its disposals on acceptable terms, manage the remaining De Beers exposure and prepare for a large integration without losing operational discipline.

The stronger copper performance, improved free cash flow and lower leverage provide a solid base. The weaker iron ore margins, continuing diamond losses and reliance on commodity prices are the clearest concerns.

The original company announcement contains the complete interim financial report and operating disclosures.