BHP shareholders will receive a heftier, fully franked 65 US cents per share interim dividend after the global miner lifted its first-half statutory profit 29 per cent to $US4.87 billion ($A7.25 billion).
Revenue from continuing operations rose 7.0 per cent to $US22.3 billion in the six months to December 31 – up 3.0 per cent on a statutory basis – in what is chief executive Mike Henry’s first major profit report as boss of the company.
BHP’s net profit from continuing operations rose 20 per cent, while the miner has boosted its dividend from a fully franked 55 US cents a year ago.
The payout to shareholders is the second highest interim one from BHP.
Mr Henry said the miner would focus on “future-facing commodities” – copper, nickel and potentially potash – as the world moves to a decarbonised economy.
“We need more copper and we need more nickel,” he said.
BHP in November increased its stake in the majority owner and operator of the Cascabel porphyry copper-gold project in Ecuador, SolGold.
Mr Henry said he preferred to gain more copper and nickel by exploring and early stage entry, rather than acquisition.
One commodity that does not fit BHP’s view of a decarbonised economy is thermal coal.
This is a small part of its portfolio. BHP owns one such mine and has a stake in another.
Mr Henry said the miner would exit thermal coal if someone made a good offer.
The coronavirus outbreak has had no major impact on the miner.
Mr Henry said prices had “held up” and there had been no payment issues.
“The impact on our part of the market has been relatively muted,” he said.
The outbreak has killed 1,772 people in China and five elsewhere.
The BHP share price was as high as $38.61 in morning trade but eased to be 6.5 cents higher at $38.53 at 1035 AEDT.
AAP
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