Australian-based BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, will pay its highest dividend in four years as it benefits from strong demand for the commodities it produces, especially copper and iron ore.
Underlying profit rose by 30% to $13.2 billion in the year which ended on June 30 generated from a 15% increase in revenue to $58.8 billion.
A final dividend of 99c a share, when combined with a half-year payout of 73c takes the full year payout $1.72.
Once dominated by its iron ore operations in Western Australia, BHP is increasingly being seen by investors as a copper miner with deep exposure to electrification, especially artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
Relatively new chief executive Brandon Craig said BHP had enjoyed a strong year with record iron ore shipments, and two million tons of copper produced for the second conservative year.
“We met or beat guidance across much of our portfolio and achieved industry-leading cost positions,” Craig said.
“Copper is the engine room that is driving BHP growth. Copper contributed more than half of our underlying Ebitda (pre-tax) earnings and generated significant free cash flow, which means copper growth is self-funding.”
Iron ore remains a major profit generator with almost steady Ebitda of $14.5 compared with $14.4 billion in the previous financial year.
Coal, largely because of high Australian taxes, was modestly more profitable but still at a depressed Ebitda of $832 million compared with $573 million previously.
BHP’s major new development, Canadian potash fertilizer, edged closer to a production start-up in the middle of next year.
Craig said construction of the first stage of the Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan was 84% complete.
“Jansen is expected to operate for 60 years and establishes BHP in a new commodity that is essential to food security.”
Despite the strong profit result some investment analysts believed BHP’s copper-powered share price might have risen too far, too fast.
Since the start of the year BHP’s share is up 41% at A$64.72 ($45.30) with Canadian bank RBC Capital Markets telling clients after the release of today’s profit report that while BHP’s outlook is positive, the firm’s share price target is A$57 ($39.90), down 11.4%.