BHP reports best profit in nearly a decade, pays record dividend By Reuters

2/2

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Visitors to the BHP (formerly known as BHP Billiton) booth speak with representatives during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Ph

2/2

(Reuters) – BHP Group (NYSE:) reported its best annual profit in nearly a decade and said it will pay a record dividend, as the world’s biggest miner benefited from soaring iron ore prices on the back of robust demand from China.

Iron ore prices hit record highs this year supported by Beijing’s infrastructure push, although a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in China and its vow to lower emissions by curbing steel output is expected to be a drag on the commodity.

The full-year profit and bumper dividend sent BHP’s London-listed shares nearly 10% higher, as the company said it would do away with its dual-listed structure and give up its London berth.

BHP’s Australia-listed shares rose more than a fifth this year as it posted record iron ore output and earned more than double per tonne for the steelmaking ingredient.

The company’s underlying profit for fiscal 2021 rose to $17.08 billion, but missed a consensus of $17.46 billion compiled by Vuma.

The miner will pay $2 per share as a final dividend, totalling $10.1 billion, bringing the total payout for the year to $3.01 a share.

BHP said it was going ahead with the Jansen potash project in Canada, which is expected to cost $5.7 billion in the first phase, offering the company a route to diversify into “future-facing commodities”.

The Jansen investment decision comes as the company also said on Tuesday that it would sell its oil and gas business to Woodside (OTC:) Petroleum Ltd in an all-stock deal.

Jansen is expected to produce 4.35 million tonnes of potash per year from 2027. Potash is a key element in plant nutrition that also makes crops more drought resistant.

BHP also took an impairment charge of $1.3 billion this year related to a potash asset.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*