Ivan Glasenberg
Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Global diversified mining and marketing company Glencore is ahead of schedule on the debt reduction plan, with rapid delivery of debt reduction measures preparing the London-, Hong Kong- and Johannesburg-listed giant for current, and even lower, commodity prices.
Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg said on Thursday that the company was well placed to continue to be cash generative even amidst lower prices.
“We retain a high degree of flexibility and will continue to review the need to act further as required," Glasenberg said in a media release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online.
The net debt target has been lowered from the low $20-billion range to between $18-billion and $19-billion.
The company has provided group spot 2016 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $7.7-billion and cash flow guidance of $2.3-billion, which is substantially ahead of consensus.
The end 2015 $25-billion net debt and $40-billion net funding targets given in November have been reiterated and the company has now increased the debt reduction target by $3-billion reflecting higher asset sales, $500-million lower capital expenditure and $400-million cost savings.
Net funding is expected to fall from $40-billion at the end of this year to $33-billion at the end of 2016.