18th Feb 2020 05:34
(Alliance News) - Anglo-Australian mining firm BHP Group PLC said Tuesday it increased its interim dividend, as profit and revenue rose on higher prices and favourable currency movements.
For the six months to the end of December, pretax profit rose by 15% to USD7.79 billion from USD6.80 billion the year before, as revenue grew by 7.5% to USD22.30 billion from USD20.74 billion.
BHP's profit performance was helped by stronger iron ore prices and favourable exchange rate movements, despite overall lower volumes and increased costs.
Profit from operations increased by 13% year-on-year to USD8.31 billion from USD7.33 billion.
BHP lifted its interim dividend by 18% to 65 US cents per share compared to 55 cents the prior year, even as net debt increased by 21% to USD12.84 billion from USD10.64 billion.
BHP kept its copper production guidance for its year ending June to be between 1.71 million and 1.82 million tonnes compared to 1.7 million tonnes mined the year prior.
For iron ore, BHP still expects financial 2020 production to be between 242 million and 253 million tonnes from 238.0 million tonnes the year before.
Coal production for the year is anticipated between 41 million and 44 million tonnes for metallurgical coal and 24 million and 26 million tonnes for energy coal. In financial 2019, BHP produced 42.4 million tonnes of metallurgical coal and 27.5 million tonnes of energy coal.
Petroleum guidance is expected at the bottom of the range, which is between 110 million and 116 million barrels of oil equivalent compared to 121 million the year before.
"BHP is in good shape. We have passionate and committed people hungry to perform. We have brought together high quality assets in a simple portfolio that allows us to create value at scale. Our balance sheet is strong and we have embedded a Capital Allocation Framework which drives discipline and better decisions," said Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry.
"Despite near term uncertainty – due to the coronavirus outbreak, trade policy and geopolitics – we remain convinced about the positive underlying fundamentals of our commodities. We see enormous potential to reliably deliver exceptional financial and operational performance, and to grow value and returns," Henry added.
Shares in BHP Group closed 0.8% higher at AUD38.78 on Tuesday in Sydney.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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