BHP HY Profit Drops

(RTTNews) - BHP (BHP.AX, BLT.L, BBL, BHP) reported that its profit attributable to shareholders for the half year ended 31 December 2023 dropped to US$927 million or 18.3 cents per share from last year's US$6.46 billion or 127.3 cents per share, due to an exceptional loss of US$5.6 billion following an impairment of Western Australia Nickel, and an increase to the provision related to the Samarco dam failure.

Underlying attributable profit was US$6.569 billion compared to US$6.597 billion in the previous year. Underlying basic earnings per ordinary share were 129.6 cents down from 130.3 cents in the prior year.

Revenue for the period rose to US$27.23 billion from the prior year's US$25.71 billion, primarily as a result of higher iron ore and copper prices, as well as the contribution of new mines Prominent Hill and Carrapateena. These were partially offset by New South Wales Energy Coal (NSWEC), where despite a 43% increase in sales volumes, realized prices decreased by 65%.

The company announced an interim dividend of 72 US cents per share - a total of US$3.6 billion, equating to a payout ratio of 56%.

According to BHP, Calendar year 2024 is a year of elections - including in Queensland, India, Indonesia and the US - which can bring elevated policy uncertainty.

Economically, BHP expects the near term to be moderately more favorable than in the last calendar year, with a more balanced distribution of commodity demand globally.

Overall, BHP's outlook for China remains cautious, and conditional on how quickly and effectively pro-growth policies flow through to the broader Chinese economy.

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