MELBOURNE, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Australian miner South32 Ltd S32.AX slashed its net debt in half in the September quarter, as its sets itself to ride out tough market conditions, it told shareholders at its maiden annual meeting.
South32, spun off by BHP Billiton BHP.AX BLT.L earlier this year, said it had cut net debt to $196 million from $402 million in the first quarter of the current financial year and had achieved record production at its Australian manganese and metallurgical coal operations.
"Our strong balance sheet is a key point of difference, which positions us well given the challenging outlook," Chief Executive Graham Kerr said in remarks prepared for the annual meeting in Perth.
South32's shares have plunged 39 percent since it was cast off by BHP last May. The company consists of most of the assets that BHP acquired in its takeover of Billiton in 2001.
South32 has been tipped as a potential takeover target for X2 Resources, run by Mick Davis, who knows most of South32's coal, aluminium, nickel and manganese assets well from his days at Billiton.