- Gold Price Rally Lifts AngloGold Ashanti EBITDA 45.90% to US$1.97bn
AngloGold Ashanti reported a 47.89% increase in second-quarter profit to US$1.19 billion as stronger gold prices and robust cash generation offset lower production and rising operating costs.
The miner’s Q2 2026 free cash flow increased 35.89% to US$727.00 million from US$535.00 million a year earlier, while EBITDA rose 45.90% to US$1.97 billion from US$1.35 billion. The company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance. The earnings performance was driven primarily by a sharp increase in the gold price received.
AngloGold Ashanti realised an average gold price of US$4,446 per ounce during the quarter, up 35.26% from US$3,287 per ounce in Q2 2025. Gold income consequently increased 26.05% to US$3.03 billion from US$2.41 billion.
Headline earnings rose 58.06% to US$1.01 billion from US$639.00 million, while profit attributable to equity shareholders increased to US$1.00 billion from US$669.00 million. Earnings attributable to shareholders rose to 197 US cents per share from 132 US cents.
The improved financial performance came despite weaker physical output.
Group gold production declined 7.46% to 744,000 ounces from 804,000 ounces in the corresponding quarter of 2025. AngloGold attributed the reduction mainly to the December 2025 sale of Serra Grande, lower output at Obuasi following a contractor fatality in April and planned mine sequencing and maintenance at some operations.
Obuasi remains central to the group’s growth strategy, with AngloGold continuing the mine’s ramp-up while pursuing additional brownfield opportunities across Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Egypt and Brazil.
The company said the investigation into the April 24 fatality at Obuasi had been completed and corrective actions were being implemented.
Costs rose materially during the quarter.
Group total cash costs increased 20.72% to US$1,480 per ounce from US$1,226 per ounce, while all-in sustaining costs climbed 22.39% to US$2,039 per ounce from US$1,666 per ounce.
Management attributed much of the increase to external factors, including inflation, higher gold-price-linked royalties, elevated fuel costs and currency movements. The stronger Ghanaian cedi was among the exchange-rate pressures, appreciating about 9.00% against the US dollar year-on-year.
Higher gold prices also translated into substantially larger tax payments.
Cash taxes more than doubled to US$542.00 million from US$237.00 million, reflecting stronger profitability and the timing of payments across jurisdictions. Even after the increased tax outflow, operating cash generation rose 49.00% to US$1.80 billion.
The balance sheet strengthened considerably.
AngloGold ended June with US$991.00 million in net cash, reversing a US$311.00 million net debt position at the end of June 2025. The company had also repurchased approximately US$666.00 million of outstanding bonds in April, reducing gross debt and future interest obligations.
The stronger cash position is feeding directly into shareholder returns.
AngloGold declared an interim Q2 dividend of US$364.00 million, equivalent to US$0.72 per share. That lifts total dividends declared for the first half of 2026 to US$949.00 million, or US$1.88 per share, more than double the US$469.00 million declared in H1 2025.
Shareholders have also approved a proposed share repurchase programme of up to US$2.00 billion, giving the company another mechanism to return excess capital.
For Ghanaian investors, the dividend has direct relevance.
Beneficial owners on the Ghana sub-register will receive the US$0.72 dividend converted into cedis. Using an illustrative exchange rate of GH¢11.6600 to US$1.00, AngloGold estimated the gross dividend at approximately GH¢8.3952 per ordinary share, although the final amount will depend on the August 14 conversion rate.
The record date is August 21, with payment expected around September 4.
AngloGold’s Q2 numbers therefore show a business benefiting heavily from record-strength gold pricing while simultaneously absorbing weaker production and rising costs.
The key question for the second half will be whether expected higher output, including continued progress at Obuasi, can combine with elevated gold prices to reduce unit costs and sustain the exceptional cash generation that has allowed the group to move from net debt into a near-US$1.00 billion net cash position.
