Anglo American failed to match the strong performances of peers Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton in its latest quarter despite improvements in iron, copper and diamonds.

Brokers said that the performance was mixed with another poor performance in nickel where the Barro Alto plant in Brazil is still operating well below capacity, while coal production also fell.

Volumes in Australian metallurgical coal and South African thermal coal exports missed consensus estimates, while Barro Alto’s nickel output is running at 20 tonnes to 25,000 tonnes against name plate of 36,000 two and half years being commissioned. Anglo maintained copper guidance at 680,000 tonnes this year.

Morgan Stanley said that some parts of the performance were encouraging but the key issues to address for new chief executive Mark Cutifani also stand out with Barro Alto still not performing as it needs to. There are also clear signs that the company is prioritising spending, with evaluation costs down 35% YoY in an environment of structurally weaker commodity prices.