AngloGold advises that it expects adjusted headline earnings 1 for the three-month period ended 31 March 2004 to be materially below adjusted headline earnings 1 for the three-month period ended 31 December 2003. In terms of the JSE Securities Exchange Listings Requirements, material is defined as a movement between 10% and 30%. AngloGold also expects that earnings will be below the consensus analysts' forecast for the three-month period ended 31 March 2004.
It is anticipated that gold production for the first quarter of 2004 will be 11% below that of the previous quarter. This lower production is broadly in line with AngloGold's expectations and has these major causes:
Anticipated lower grades at the Geita operation in Tanzania, following the unusually high grades reported in the last quarter of 2003;
Reduced production at Morila in Mali, as a result of lower ore throughput and grade. Throughput is expected to increase with the commissioning of the plant extension; and
The earnings variation is also, in part, the result of an abnormal tax credit of $7 million in the previous quarter.
Management expects that AngloGold (excluding Ashanti) will meet its production forecast for 2004 of 5.3 million ounces, as published in the Annual Financial Statements. The total cash cost and capital expenditure projections in that forecast were based on an exchange rate of $1=R7; the exchange rate for the March quarter was $1=R6.76.
Shareholders are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the Company's securities until the publication of the Company's results for the three months ended 31 March 2004.