Australia's South32 Ltd said on August 22 it was in talks to sell its South Africa energy-coal business to Seriti Resources and reported a bigger-than-expected drop in annual underlying profit on lower aluminum prices.
The sale represents a shift from coal for the company at a time when investor pressure and climate change concerns are prompting companies to limit their exposure to fossil fuels.
In June, Reuters reported that Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund may have to sell its stake in South32, worth about $266 million, to meet tighter ethical investing rules adopted by the country's parliament.
The miner said it booked a charge of $504 million related to the South African energy-coal business, which it has been running as a separate unit since April 2018 in preparation for a sale.
The miner's underlying net profit, which excludes the impact of one-off items, came in at $992 million for the year ended June 30, compared with $1.33 billion a year earlier, hit by lower aluminum prices due to slowing growth in China and the Sino-U.S. trade war.
Analysts expected a profit of $1.04 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
(Writing by Tammy Yang Editing by Harry Huo)
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