国际矿业巨头分拆其上半年业绩，黄金矿业公司成为最大赢家

最近，几大国际矿业巨头公布了他们的上半年业绩。

　　 Since the beginning of this year, the overseas epidemic situation has been serious. There have been frequent reports of workers' infections and suspension of operations in mining areas, which has created a disturbing factor in the international bulk commodity market. The violent fluctuations in commodity prices also directly affect the earnings and performance of international mining giants.

淡水河谷实现了转机

　　 According to reports, as of June 30 this year, the three international iron ore giants Vale, Rio Tinto, and BHP Billiton have all achieved profits. Vale has turned losses into profits, and Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton's net profit fell year-on-year.

　　 Vale’s net profit in the first half of the year was US$1.234 billion, compared with a loss of US$1.775 billion in the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, Vale achieved a net profit of US$995 million in the second quarter, an increase of US$756 million from the first quarter, and contributed most of the first half of the performance.

“在巴西雷亚尔贬值的环境下，金融衍生品贬值严重影响了第一季度净利润的下降。”淡水河谷解释说:“第二季度，公司正式调整后的摊销前利润(EBITDA)为35.86亿美元，比第一季度增加5.45亿美元。”

　　 In terms of business, the ferrous metal business, including iron ore, is still the main source of profit for Vale. In the second quarter, Vale’s ferrous metal business EBITDA was US$3.502 billion, an increase of US$655 million from the first quarter. Vale said that China's good market demand has promoted the increase in the actual price of metal products, the increase in iron ore powder production in the quarter promotes sales growth, and the depreciation of the Brazilian real has all contributed to the increase in the EBITDA of this business.

“虽然淡水河谷今年上半年的出货量相对低迷，但海外经济疲软加上疫情，海外铁矿石需求减少，大大增加了巴西对华出货量的比例。巴西对中国的出口没有下降而是上升了。”中信期货黑色建材集团表示。

　　 Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton net profit decline

　　 Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining giant, achieved a net profit of US$3.316 billion in the first half of this year, a decline of about 20% from the same period last year. According to reports, Rio Tinto’s current basic EBITDA was US$9.6 billion, down 6% from the same period last year, mainly due to the decline in aluminum and copper prices. It is worth mentioning that stable iron ore prices have helped the company maintain an EBITDA margin of 47%.

　　 Rio Tinto said that the epidemic situation in China improved and stabilized in the second quarter, the construction and infrastructure sectors performed well, and consumer confidence increased. China’s demand for iron ore continues to grow, while Japan and Europe have not yet seen a significant economic recovery, and even the recovery is likely to be inhibited by many factors.

　　The global mining leader BHP Billiton announced its 2019-2020 fiscal year (July 2019 to June 2020) results on August 18. The company achieved a net profit of US$7.956 billion in the fiscal year, a 4% decrease from the same period last year.

　　 Regarding the market outlook, BHP Billiton stated in an announcement that, affected by the epidemic, global crude steel production is expected to fall by 6%, and China’s significant increase may be offset by the sharp decline in other parts of the world.

　　 gold mine became the biggest winner

　　 Glencore, which is an oligarch in the fields of cobalt, zinc, and copper, posted a net loss of US$2.6 billion in the first half of this year, compared with a net profit of US$226 million in the same period last year. Glencore said that the decline in the company's net profit in the first half of the year was due to weak commodity prices and the spread of the epidemic.

　　 Glencore's huge loss was due to a sharp decline in the output of its main products. According to reports, the company's copper production in the first half of the year was 588,100 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11%; cobalt production was 14,300 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 33%; coal production was 58.1 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 15%. In addition, as of the end of June, Glencore's net debt increased by 12% to $19.7 billion.

　　 The gold mining giants have reported good results in the first half of the year.

　　Barrick Gold achieved a net profit of US$757 million in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 148.2%. According to reports, the company's gold production in the first half of the year was 2.4 million ounces, and the annual guidance target was 4.6 million ounces to 5 million ounces, which is about half of the target.

　　 Also benefiting from the rise in gold prices is Newmont Mining, which achieved a net profit of US$1.166 billion in the first half of 2020, a year-on-year increase of more than 1700%. In quarterly terms, the company achieved a net profit of US$822 million in the first quarter, an increase of more than 800% year-on-year; in the second quarter, it achieved a net profit of US$344 million, turning losses into profits from last year.

　　 The profit increase of gold mining companies is mainly due to the surge in international gold prices. Wind data shows that in the first half of the year, international gold prices climbed from approximately US$1,500/ounce to nearly US$1,800/ounce, a cumulative increase of more than 18%. As of 15:53 on August 19, Beijing time, London spot gold has increased by more than 31% this year.

　　 According to statistics from the World Gold Association, global gold mine output in the first half of the year decreased by 5% year-on-year to 1603.6 tons, the lowest level since 2014. The main reason for the decline in output was the strict lockdown measures implemented by major mining countries.