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BHP (NYSE:BHP) reported Monday its full-year profit fell sharply from a year ago, when the world’s largest miner by market value posted its largest-ever profit thanks to prices for iron ore and other commodities that approached record highs.
BHP’s (BHP) net profit for the fiscal year through June 30 tumbled to $12.92B from a profit of $30.9B in the same period a year earlier and below an expected $13.3B profit, according to a Visible Alpha consensus; the year-earlier result enjoyed a boost from a $7.1B exceptional gain largely because of the merger of BHP’s petroleum unit with Woodside Energy.
Full-year underlying profit, which strips out some one-time items, fell to $13.42B from $23.82B a year ago.
Earnings from iron ore slid 23% Y/Y, while coal profits plummeted 47%, copper came in 22% lower, and nickel slumped 61%, even as production of iron ore, copper, nickel and thermal coal rose from a year earlier, while output of steelmaking coal was flat.
BHP (BHP) declared a final dividend of US$0.80/share, lifting its full-year payout to US$1.70/share, slightly lower than $1.75/share a year ago.
China’s near-term economic outlook is “contingent on the effectiveness of recent policy measures,” CEO Mike Henry said, but BHP (BHP) anticipates “buoyant growth in India with strong construction activity underpinning an expansion in steelmaking capacity.”
