Fitch affirms Anglo American

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Anglo American plc's issuer default and senior unsecured ratings at A and short-term rating at F1. This follows the company's announcement of a new $3 billion capital management program.

The outlook remains stable.

Fitch said it does not interpret Anglo's additional capital management program as signaling a move away from its historically conservative financial profile, but rather an utilization of surplus cash flows generated by the current high commodity prices.

While the amount of the program is large in absolute terms, Fitch said it views it to be manageable within Anglo's existing ratings. This is due to Anglo's ongoing strong cash flow generation and Fitch's expectation that commodity prices will remain at historically high levels throughout 2007.

The plan to spread the capital management program through 2007 also provides Anglo with a degree of flexibility in the amount and timing of the buybacks, particularly if a major acquisition is undertaken, the agency said.

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