Anglo American Takes $2.3 Billion De Beers Writedown, Profit Steady

Anglo American recorded a US$2.3 billion write-down on its De Beers diamond unit in its 2025 results, reducing the unit’s carrying value to US$2.3 billion and driving the group to a roughly US$3.7 billion net loss for the year. The charge is the third consecutive impairment on De Beers and sits alongside a resilient operating performance in other commodities: Anglo reported underlying earnings from continuing operations of US$6.4 billion, up 2 percent.

De Beers itself posted a US$511 million underlying loss for 2025, a sharp deterioration from a US$25 million loss in 2024, even as revenue increased to US$3.5 billion and rough diamond sales rose to US$3.0 billion from US$2.7 billion the year before. Management signalled demand pressure and inventory gluts: CEO Duncan Wanblad told reporters, “There is at the moment a plentiful supply of rough diamonds in the market,” and the unit reported a third straight annual fall in production and trimmed its 2026 output forecast.

The strategic implications are immediate. Wanblad said the sale of Anglo’s 85 percent stake in De Beers is “in the advanced stages of discussions with a select group of interested parties,” and that some consortia under consideration “include governments, and some of them don’t.” Botswana, which currently holds a 15 percent stake and whose president has publicly sought a majority position, remains a crucial interlocutor. Wanblad added that Anglo “has chosen to prioritize the strategic sale of the business” and that listing De Beers “is unlikely in the current market environment,” noting for the first time the sale may happen in stages.

Broader market forces behind the writedown are specific and multiple: softer luxury demand from China, growing market share for lab-grown stones, and trade disruption tied to US tariffs on India, where much polishing takes place. Reporting notes that a 50 percent levy imposed in August on Indian diamond exports has complicated trade flows, and that the levies could be rolled back by April, a development Anglo will watch closely as it negotiates any sale.

Anglo is pursuing a wider reshaping of its portfolio while navigating this diamond setback. The company has secured shareholder approval for a merger with Teck Resources to bolster copper exposure, with regulatory clearances being sought and an expected review window Wanblad described as running “between September and March.” Net debt fell to US$8.6 billion, and Anglo declared a reduced final dividend of US$0.23 per share, down from US$0.64 a year earlier, while two flagship coal mines remain halted because of fires and work on a major UK fertilizer project has slowed.

One accounting knot remains: several reports state cumulative impairments on De Beers total US$6.8 billion, yet line-item figures of US$2.6 billion (2023), US$2.9 billion (2024) and the current US$2.3 billion would imply US$7.8 billion. For clarity on pre-tax versus after-tax treatment and the definitive cumulative charge, consult Anglo American’s statutory accounts and the notes to its financial statements. The outcome of the De Beers sale, regulatory approval of the Teck deal, and whether inventories and tariffs ease will determine whether this writedown is indeed “a low point,” as Wanblad said on the company call.