DIVERSIFIED mining giant BHP reported better-than-expected full-year earnings and its highest annual dividend in four years, Reuters reported, as record copper prices boosted profits.
Underlying attributable profit rose 30% to $13.20bn for the year ended 30 June.
BHP declared a final dividend of 99c a share, taking its full-year payout to $1.72 – its highest in four years.
Copper, including earnings from byproducts such as gold and uranium, generated $18.19bn in operating earnings, overtaking iron ore at $14.53bn.
Copper prices have risen above $14,000 a metric ton this year, supported by demand from AI data-centre construction and the global shift towards cleaner energy.
New CEO Brandon Craig, who took the helm in July, said BHP’s project pipeline could increase copper production by as much as 40% by 2035, although output is expected to decline in the near term.
He said buying copper assets was roughly five times more expensive than developing them.
BHP’s Western Australian iron ore operations generated $14.67bn in operating earnings – up 2% from a year earlier.
The company said ongoing industrial action at Port Hedland in Western Australia – the first major strikes in decades – was not expected to have a negative impact.
Talks were expected to continue on Tuesday.
Net debt fell to $8.69bn, below BHP’s $10bn to $12bn target range.
Craig also played down speculation that BHP could sell its Queensland metallurgical coal operations, saying the assets will remain important if markets develop as expected.
