Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, said: "Anglo American delivered an impressive financial and operational performance in 2011, as we continued to capture the benefits of operational improvements and disciplined cost management to capitalise on the attractive commodity demand and pricing environment that prevailed for much of the year. We have reported a record operating profit of $11.1 billion, a 14% increase, EBITDA of $13.3 billion and underlying earnings increased by 23% to $6.1 billion, also a record.

Our successful delivery of three major mining projects on or ahead of schedule during the year is a great achievement, and will contribute significant new volumes of iron ore, copper and nickel as the new operations continue to ramp up during 2012. Our decision to sustain capital investment in the development of these and other growth projects through the cycle, with highly competitive operating costs and capital intensity ratios, sets us apart as a near term volume growth leader.

The first shipment of lump iron ore from the 9 Mtpa Kolomela mine in South Africa in December 2011, five months ahead of schedule, was an important step towards our goal of increasing production to 70 million tonnes per annum from our South African iron ore assets this decade. In copper, the expansion at Los Bronces in Chile, completed in October 2011, will more than double the mine's production of 221,000 tpa, on average over the first three years of full production, with reserves and resources that support a mine life of over 30 years. And in Brazil, we delivered first production at our new Barro Alto nickel operation in March 2011. Barro Alto will average 41,000 tpa of nickel over its first five years of full production and increase Anglo American's nickel volumes by 180%.

Dividends

Anglo American's dividend policy will provide a base dividend that will be maintained or increased through the cycle. The Group has maintained this policy and recommended a final dividend of 46 US cents per share, giving a total dividend for the year of 74 US cents per share, subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 19 April 2012. As previously stated, after taking into account the Group's substantial investment programme for future growth, future earnings potential and the continuing need for a robust balance sheet, any surplus cash will be returned to shareholders.

We also made good progress during the year at the greenfield Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil, the fourth of our strategic growth projects. We are continuing to manage a number of challenges in a high inflationary Brazilian mining environment. To mitigate these challenges, we are implementing various measures including acceleration activities within the previously announced 15% capital expenditure increase, to target first ore on ship in the second half of 2013.

We are maintaining momentum into our next phase of growth, with the Board approval of six growth projects across six commodities including our 5 Mtpa Grosvenor metallurgical coal project in Australia. We expect to approve further new projects during 2012, including the Quellaveco copper project in Peru. Looking further out, we are focused on prioritising the most value-accretive options from our $84 billion pipeline of unapproved projects towards development and we continue to replenish and increase our world class resource base through industry-leading exploration successes. Our discovery of copper, nickel, PGMs and cobalt at Sakatti in northern Finland is a great example of Anglo American's deep-rooted greenfield exploration expertise delivering value as well as the use of innovative drilling technology to reduce our environmental impacts as we work towards defining the resource.

Beyond our organic growth programme, we continue to deliver shareholder value commercially. We took the unique opportunity in November to finalise the agreement to acquire the Oppenheimer family's shareholding in De Beers, taking Anglo American's interest in the world's leading diamond company to up to 85%. We will continue to pursue growth where we see the most compelling, long term opportunities and to deliver value from our high quality asset base. Our sale of a non-controlling interest in our Anglo American Sur (AA Sur) assets to Mitsubishi for $5.4 billion, valuing those assets at $22 billion, is a demonstration of that commitment and of the quality of our assets.

Safety remains my absolute priority and I have not wavered on this commitment since my appointment as Chief Executive five years ago. I am deeply saddened that in 2011, 17 employees died while working for Anglo American. We have a long way to go to achieve our objective of zero harm, despite marked improvements in our safety record since 2007, with significant reduction in the number of our people who have lost their lives at work and lost time injury rates. While we continue to see many examples of safety excellence across Anglo American, we are committed to reviewing, refocusing and reprioritising our safety related programmes to address ongoing challenges.

Despite short term uncertainty persisting in the global economy, particularly in Europe, the longer term outlook for Anglo American's diversified mix of commodities remains strong. We expect sustained growth in the emerging economies, notably in China and India, which will underpin robust demand for commodities, supplemented by early recovery signs in the US. Continuing industrialisation and urbanisation and the considerable scope for the convergence of living standards, combined with long term supply constraints, present an attractive proposition across our unique portfolio of early, mid and late development cycle commodities."