Anglo American’s (AAL) 2019 performance is a hybrid effort, driven by iron ore price strength and record high palladium prices. Palladium is on a tear partly because of emissions regulations and hybrid car demand, and grew from $1,276 (£982m) an ounce (oz) in January 2019 to $2,000 at the end of the year, according to Johnson Matthey.
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This helped Anglo’s underlying cash profits for the year hit $10bn, a 9 per cent year-on-year increase. The company put the earnings down to an overall 2 per cent improvement in prices and a 9 per cent improvement in performance.