AU - AngloGold 2022 plunges after profit falls; cuts 2023 production guidance

AngloGold Ashanti ( NYSE: AU ) -6.2% pre-market Wednesday after reporting a decline in FY 2022 pretax profit and lowering its FY 2023 production forecast after suspending gold processing at a plant in Brazil as it works to strengthen a tailings facility.

AngloGold's ( AU ) full-year pretax profit was nearly cut in half to $489M from $958M a year earlier and headline earnings slid to $544M from $612M in 2021, but revenues rose 12% to $4.39B from $3.9B in the previous year.

FY 2022 gold production gained 11% Y/Y to 2.74M oz from 2.47M oz in 2021, as output improved at a key mine in Ghana, while all-in sustaining costs rose 2% to $1,383/oz from $1,355/oz a year earlier due to higher cash costs caused by inflationary pressures.

AngloGold ( AU ) said it expects to produce 2.45M-2.6M oz of gold this year, as it suspended tailings deposition at the Calcinados mine in Brazil after starting buttressing work.

The facility processed gold from the Cuiabá Mine Complex, which produced 241K oz last year.

The miner said the tailings facility is safe, but the buttressing is aimed at meeting Canadian standards, which are considered best practice.

"The remedial tailings work appears to be due to AngloGold prudence to avoid reputational damage in Brazil as seen with historical tailings accidents in-country," RMB Morgan Stanley analysts said, according to Bloomberg.

AngloGold Ashanti ( AU ) shares fell more than 9% so far this year and 17% during the past 12 months .

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