Final Results

22nd Aug 2007 07:00

BHP Billiton PLC22 August 2007 22 August 2007Number 26/07 BHP BILLITON RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2007 * Records achieved across all key earnings measures including Underlying EBITDA up 27.1% to US$23.0 billion and Underlying EBIT up 31.4% to US$20.1 billion. * Attributable profit up 34.7% to US$13.7 billion and EPS up 39.1%, benefiting from ongoing buy-backs (both measures excluding exceptionals). * Record Underlying EBIT margin(1) and Return on Capital Employed increased to 48.4% and 38.4% respectively. This is the sixth consecutive record for both measures. * Record net operating cash flow(2) of US$15.6 billion, up 48.9%. * Annual production records for natural gas, alumina, aluminium, copper, nickel, iron ore, manganese ore and metallurgical coal(3). * Costs, net of non-cash costs, increased 3.6%, continuing a declining trend of cost increases. * Significant volume growth expected in 2008 in oil, copper, iron ore and nickel. * Final dividend rebased to 27 US cents per share demonstrating our confidence in the outlook. This is an increase of 46% on last year's final dividend. * US$6.3 billion of US$13.0 billion capital management program, announced in 2007, completed representing 5.2%(4) of outstanding shares. +---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Year ended 30 June | 2007| 2006| Change || | US$M| US$M| |+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Revenue together with share of jointly | 47,473| 39,099| 21.4%||controlled entities' revenue | | | |+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Underlying EBITDA (5) | 22,950| 18,053| 27.1%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Underlying EBIT (5) (6) | 20,067| 15,277| 31.4%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|EBIT - Profit from operations | 18,401| 14,671| 25.4%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Attributable profit - excluding exceptional | 13,675| 10,154| 34.7%||items | | | |+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Attributable profit | 13,416| 10,450| 28.4%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Net operating cash flow (2) | 15,595| 10,476| 48.9%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Basic earnings per share - excluding | 233.9| 168.2| 39.1%||exceptional items (US cents) | | | |+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Basic earnings per share (US cents) | 229.5| 173.2| 32.5%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Underlying EBITDA interest coverage (times) | 54.0| 44.3| 21.9%||(5) (7) | | | |+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+|Dividend per share (US cents) | 47.0| 36.0| 30.6%|+---------------------------------------------+----------+-------------+--------+ Refer to page 16 for footnotes, including explanations of the non-GAAP measuresused in this announcement. The above financial results are prepared in accordance with IFRS and areunaudited. All references to the prior period are to the year ended 30 June2006. RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2007 Commentary on the Group Results Record annual results The consistent execution of our strategy has once again allowed the Company todeliver outstanding financial and operational results. Our strategy is simple.We create long term value by focusing on owning and operating large, long-life,low-cost, expandable assets diversified by geography and commodity and pursuinggrowth opportunities consistent with our core skills. Our business excellencemodel promotes and deploys best practices and operating efficiencies acrossthese assets, further enhancing their value. Our priority for cash is toreinvest in the business. In line with our strategy, we have grown our businessrapidly and consistently through project development and acquisitions. We achieved record production for eight major commodities and increased annualproduction for three further commodities. Production records were set by 17assets(3). This reflects our key operating objective of delivering consistent,predictable and sustainable operating performance across all of our businessesproviding a stable platform for growth. Our continued focus on growing production from high returning assets throughoutthe cycle has allowed us to take advantage of strong global market conditionsand underpins the financial results we have announced today. Our attributableprofit (excluding exceptional items) of US$13.7 billion represents an increaseof 34.7 per cent over last year and a more than sevenfold increase since our2002 result (our inaugural result following the BHP and Billiton merger). It isour fourth consecutive record annual result, with five of our nine CSGsgenerating record EBIT. Underlying EBIT(1) margins rose to 48.4 per cent, from44.4 per cent last year while Return on Capital Employed increased from 34.6 percent to 38.4 per cent. This was the sixth consecutive record for both of thesemetrics. Our world-class asset suite continues to provide us with an array ofvalue-accretive, growth opportunities. We have a diversified minerals portfolioand a unique portfolio of energy assets; oil, gas, LNG, energy coal and uranium,all with important growth opportunities. Our project pipeline providessignificant future value, with 33 projects in either execution or feasibilityrepresenting an expected capital investment of US$20.9 billion. We also havefurther medium-term options in our portfolio with capital expenditurerequirements in excess of US$50 billion. During the year we continued the rampup of 5 projects, approved three additional projects and commissioned Spence, a200,000 tonnes per annum copper operation in Chile. We also commissioned twoprojects at our Queensland Coal Operations (Australia). In addition to thesebrownfield opportunities, we also acquired the Genghis Khan oil field, in theGulf of Mexico, and a one-third share of the Guinea Alumina project, whichconsists of high-quality bauxite reserves and the development of an aluminarefinery in Guinea. We are expecting to deliver further significant growth inthe next financial year with new projects commissioning or ramping up across ourPetroleum, Base Metals, Iron Ore and Stainless Steel Materials CSGs. Creating options for the future We are focused on delivering an enhanced resource endowment to underpin futuregenerations of growth. We have an abundance of tier one resources in fiscallystable countries that provide us with a unique set of options to deliver decadesof brownfield growth. We also have strong experience operating in emergingresource regions and the capability to capture additional opportunities as theyemerge. This experience enables us to continue to build and strengthen ourposition for long term value creation. Exploration continues to be an important focus. In our minerals businesses weare undertaking exploration in 28 countries, while Petroleum exploration isunderway in eight countries. The quality of our assets and the diversity of our portfolio underpin thestrength of our cash flow. This allows us to both identify and invest in growthopportunities while continuing to deliver outstanding returns to shareholders. Growth Projects During the 2007 financial year we completed one major growth project. Completed projects+-----------+------------------+----------------+-----------------+-----------------+| Customer | Project | Capacity | Capital | Date of initial || Sector | | | expenditure(US$ | production (1) || Group | | | million) | |+-----------+------------------+----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+| | | | Budget | Actual | Target | Actual |+-----------+------------------+----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+|Base Metals|Spence |200,000 tonnes | 990|1,100(2)| Q4 2006| Q4 2006|| |(Chile) |per annum of | | | | || |BHP Billiton - |copper cathode | | | | || |100% | | | | | |+-----------+------------------+----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+| | | | 990| 1,100| | |+-----------+------------------+----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ (1) References to quarters are based on calendar years.(2) Excluding the impact of foreign exchange the cost was US$990 million. There are 15 major projects (defined as BHP Billiton's share of capitalexpenditure of greater than US$100 million) under development with a totalbudgeted investment of US$12,781 million. Details for these are given in thequarterly Exploration and Development Report, released on 24 July 2007. Projects currently under development (approved in prior years)+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+|Customer Sector Group | Project | Capacity (1) | Budgeted | Target || | | | capital | date for || | | | expenditure | initial || | | |(US$ million)|production|| | | | (1) | (2) |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+|Petroleum |Atlantis South |200,000 barrels | 1,630(3)| H2 2007|| |(US) |of oil and 180 | | || |BHP Billiton - 44% |million cubic | | || | |feet of gas per | | || | |day (100%) | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |Neptune |50,000 barrels of| 405(3)| End 2007|| |(US) |oil and 50 | | || |BHP Billiton - 35% |million cubic | | || | |feet of gas per | | || | |day (100%) | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |Stybarrow |80,000 barrels of| 380| Q1 2008|| |(Australia) |oil per day | | || |BHP Billiton - 50% |(100%) | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |North West Shelf 5th|LNG processing | 300| Late 2008|| |Train |capacity 4.2 | | || |(Australia) |million tonnes | | || |BHP Billiton - |per annum (100%) | | || |16.67% | | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |North West Shelf |800 million cubic| 200| End 2008|| |Angel |feet of gas per | | || |(Australia) |day (100%) | | || |BHP Billiton - | | | || |16.67% | | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |Shenzi |100,000 barrels | 1,940| Mid 2009|| |(US) |of oil and 50 | | || |BHP Billiton - 44% |million cubic | | || | |feet of gas per | | || | |day (100%) | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+|Aluminium |Alumar Refinery |2 million tonnes | 725| Q2 2009|| |Expansion |per annum of | | || |(Brazil) |alumina (100%) | | || |BHP Billiton - 36% | | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+|Diamonds and Specialty |Koala Underground |3,300 tonnes per | 200| End 2007||Products |(Canada) |day of ore | | || |BHP Billiton - 80% |processed (100%) | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+|Stainless Steel |Ravensthorpe Nickel |Up to 50,000 | 2,200| Q1 2008||Materials |(Australia) |tonnes per annum | | || |BHP Billiton -100% |of contained | | || | |nickel in | | || | |concentrate | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |Yabulu Extension |45,000 tonnes per| 556| Q1 2008|| |(Australia) |annum of nickel | | || |BHP Billiton - 100% | | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+|Iron Ore |WA Iron Ore Rapid |20 million tonnes| 1,300| Q4 2007|| |Growth Project 3 |per annum of iron| | || |(Australia) |ore(100%) | | || |BHP Billiton - 85% | | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| |Samarco |7.6 million | 590| H1 2008|| |(Brazil) |tonnes per annum | | || |BHP Billiton - 50% |of iron pellets | | || | |(100%) | | |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+| | | | 10,426| |+------------------------+--------------------+-----------------+-------------+----------+ (1) All references to capital expenditure and capacity are BHP Billiton's shareunless noted otherwise.(2) References to quarters and half years are based on calendar years.(3) Project costs and schedule have been finalised. Projects approved during the year+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------+----------+|Customer Sector Group | Project | Capacity (1) | Budgeted | Target || | | | capital | date for || | | | expenditure | initial || | | | |production|| | | |(US$ million)| (2) || | | | (1) | |+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------+----------+|Petroleum |Genghis Khan |55,000 barrels| 365| H2 2007|| |(US) |of oil per day| | || |BHP Billiton - 44% |(100%) | | |+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------+----------+|Base Metals |Pinto Valley |70,000 tonnes | 140| Q4 2007|| |(US)BHP Billiton - |per annum of | | || |100% |copper in | | || | |concentrate | | |+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------+----------+|Iron Ore |WA Iron Ore Rapid |26 million | 1,850| H1 2010|| |Growth Project 4 |tonnes per | | || |(Australia) |annum of iron | | || |BHP Billiton - 86.2% |ore | | || | |(100%) | | |+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------+----------+| | | | 2,355| |+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------+----------+ (1) All references to capital expenditure and capacity are BHP Billiton's shareunless noted otherwise.(2) References to quarters and half years are based on calendar years. We also have further medium term options in our portfolio with capitalexpenditure requirements in excess of US$50 billion. Dividend and Capital Management The Board today declared a final dividend of 27 US cents per share. This rebaseddividend represents a 46 per cent increase over last year's final dividend of18.5 US cents per share. This brings the total dividends for the 2007 financialyear to 47 US cents per share, an increase of 11 US cents per share, or 30.6 percent, over last year. Today's declaration represents our eleventh consecutivedividend increase and signals both our confidence in the outlook and our abilityto consistently deliver future earnings and cash flow to underpin this increaseddividend. Our dividend has increased more than fourfold since the interimdividend paid in 2002. Our compound annual dividend growth rate has been 24 percent over this period. We will continue with our progressive dividend policyfrom this new base, with further increases dependent upon the expectations forfuture market conditions and investment opportunities. During the year we also announced US$13 billion of capital managementinitiatives. We have returned US$6.3 billion of this to our shareholders andwill return the remaining US$6.7 billion during the next 12 months. Werepurchased 305,545,269 shares, via both on-market and off-market buy-backs, atan approximate average price of US$20.57. To date, we have cancelled 262,433,555of these shares. Since August 2004 we have announced capital management initiatives totallingUS$17 billion. Since November 2004 601 million shares have been repurchased,representing approximately 10.1 per cent of the total shares on issue at anapproximate price of US$16.79 (A$21.42 / GBP 8.74). At the completion of allannounced initiatives we will have returned US$28.2 billion in total toshareholders through capital initiatives and dividends since June 2001. The Income Statement To provide clarity into the underlying performance of our operations, we presentUnderlying EBIT which is a measure used internally and in our SupplementaryInformation. Underlying EBIT excludes all net finance costs and taxation(including net finance costs and taxation of jointly controlled entities) andany exceptional items. The differences between Underlying EBIT and EBIT (Profitfrom operations) are set out in the following table:+---------------------------+-----------------+---------------+-----------------+|Year ended 30 June | | 2007| 2006|+---------------------------+-----------------+---------------+-----------------+| | | US$M| US$M|+---------------------------+-----------------+---------------+-----------------+|Underlying EBIT | | 20,067| 15,277|+---------------------------+-----------------+---------------+-----------------+|Impact of equity accounting for statutory | | ||purposes: | | ||Share of jointly controlled entities' net | (122)| (95)||finance costs | | |+---------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------+|Share of jointly controlled entities' total | (1,201)| (950)||taxation expense | | |+---------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------+|Exceptional items (before taxation) | (343)| 439|+---------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------+|EBIT - Profit from operations | 18,401| 14,671|+---------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------+ Underlying EBIT The following table and commentary describes the approximate impact of theprincipal factors that affected Underlying EBIT for the year ended 30 June 2007compared with last year:+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | US$ Million |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Underlying EBIT for the year ended 30 June 2006 | | 15,277 |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Change in volumes: | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Increase in volumes | 438| |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Decrease in volumes | (220)| |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|New operations | 368| || | | || | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | | 586 |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Net price impact | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Change in sales prices | 7,101| |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Price-linked costs | (979)| || | | || | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | | 6,122 |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Change in costs: | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Costs (rate and usage) | (859)| |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Exchange rates | (271)| |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Inflation on costs | (416)| |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | | (1,546) |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Asset sales | | (61) |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Ceased and sold operations | | (198) |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Exploration and business development | | (149) |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Other | | 36 |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+|Underlying EBIT for the year ended 30 June 2007 | | 20,067 |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+| | | |+-----------------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+ Volumes Continued strong demand underpinned increased sales volumes of metallurgicalcoal, petroleum products, nickel, manganese ore, alumina, zinc, iron ore,aluminium and energy coal, which contributed approximately US$438 million more(measured at last year's average margins) to Underlying EBIT than last year.Sales volumes of base metals were lower at Olympic Dam (Australia) due to asmelter shutdown and at Cannington (Australia) due to the temporary closure ofthe southern zone. However this was more than offset by copper sales fromSpence, which commenced operations in December 2006, and added US$363 millionand the ramp-up of the Sulphide Leach project at Escondida (Chile). Weexperienced a decrease in diamond sales for the year as a result of inventorysales in the prior year. Prices Net changes in price increased Underlying EBIT by US$7,101 million. Lower pricesfor metallurgical coal and manganese ore had a negative impact. Higher price-linked costs reduced Underlying EBIT by US$979 million withincreased charges for third party nickel ore contributing US$658 million to thisamount. Higher royalties for nickel, iron ore, and higher LME-linked powercharges in Aluminium were offset by lower metallurgical coal royalties (in linewith lower prices) and more favourable rates for copper treatment and refiningcharges (TCRCs), including the removal or limiting of price participation in newcontracts. Costs Continued strong global demand for resources has led to increased costs acrossthe industry for labour, contractors, raw materials, fuel, energy and otherinput costs. In addition, port congestion and other third party infrastructureconstraints resulted in increased demurrage costs and shipping, freight andother distribution charges. In this environment, costs for the Group haveincreased by US$859 million. Excluding non cash costs of US$145 million, thisrepresents an increase on our June 2006 total cost base of 3.6 per cent. Giventhe current market tightness, this represents an outstanding performance. Specific areas of cost increase include labour and contractor charges,consumables and fuels, maintenance and other operating costs. Changed miningconditions, particularly at Cannington, where we had a temporary closure of thesouthern zone, and higher strip ratios at Queensland Coal (Australia) had anadverse impact. However, we generated savings of US$203 million on our 2006 costbase through a wide range of business improvement initiatives across the Group. The current environment continues to be challenging across the resource industryand the pressure on access to labour and other inputs to our business remains.However the quality of ore bodies, our supplier relationships, systems andcapabilities of our people have allowed us to manage these challenges. Exchange rates Exchange rate movements had a negative impact on Underlying EBIT of US$271million. The stronger Australian dollar had a negative impact of US$478 million.This was partially offset by the favourable impact of a weaker South Africanrand on operating costs for our South African businesses. The Western AustraliaIron Ore and Queensland Coal operations were both significantly impacted by thestrength of the Australian dollar. The following exchange rates against the US dollar have been applied:+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |Year ended 30 | Year ended 30| 30 June 2007| 30 June 2006|| | June 2007 | June 2006| closing| closing|| | average | average| | |+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| | | | | |+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|Australian | 0.79| 0.75| 0.85| 0.74||dollar (a) | | | | |+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|South African | 7.20| 6.41| 7.08| 7.12||rand | | | | |+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ (a) Displayed as US$ to A$1 based on common convention. Inflation on costs Inflationary pressures on input costs across all our businesses had anunfavourable impact on Underlying EBIT of US$416 million. These pressures weremost evident in Australia and South Africa. Asset Sales The sale of assets and interests decreased Underlying EBIT by US$61 million. Thecurrent period was principally impacted by the sale of 1 million tonnes ofannual capacity at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (South Africa), the MoranbahCoal Bed Methane assets (Australia), the Koornfontein energy coal mine (SouthAfrica), the interest in Eyesizwe (South Africa) and Alliance Copper (Chile). Inthe corresponding period we had higher profits arising largely from thedivestment of our interest in the Wonderkop chrome joint venture (South Africa),the Vincent Van Gogh undeveloped oil discovery (Australia) and the Green Canyonoil fields (US). Ceased and sold operations The current period was negatively impacted by the loss of US$343 million ofUnderlying EBIT from Tintaya (Peru) (divested in June 2006) and the SouthernCross Fertiliser operations (Australia) (divested in August 2006). This waspartly offset by a US$82 million year on year impact of movements in restorationand rehabilitation provisions for closed operations. Exploration and business development Gross exploration expenditure increased to US$805 million during the year. Weincreased activity on nickel targets in Western Australia, Guatemala, Indonesiaand the Philippines, on energy coal targets in New South Wales (Australia) andon diamond targets in Angola. This increased expenditure however, was offset bya higher level of capitalisation of oil and gas exploration expenditure,primarily in Australia. This resulted in exploration expense, being US$17million lower than last year. Expenditure on business development was US$166 million higher than last yearmainly due to the pre-feasibility study on the Olympic Dam expansion and otherBase Metals activities. Other Other items increased Underlying EBIT by US$36 million. These included higherinsurance recoveries than last year partially offset by a lower contributionfrom freight and other activities. Net finance costs Net finance costs decreased to US$390 million, from US$505 million last year.This was driven predominantly by higher capitalised interest, partially offsetby higher average interest rates and foreign exchange impacts. Taxation expense The total taxation expense on profit before tax was US$4,515 million,representing an effective rate of 25.1 per cent. Excluding the impacts of royalty-related taxation, non tax-effected foreigncurrency adjustments, translation of tax balances and other functional currencytranslation adjustments and including the taxation expense of jointly controlledentities, the underlying effective rate was 29.6 per cent. When compared to theUK and Australian statutory tax rate (30 per cent), the underlying effective taxrate included a benefit of 1.4 per cent due to the recognition of prior year UStax benefits (US$282 million). All of the prior year US tax losses have now beenutilised. Royalty-related taxation represents an effective rate of 2.1 per centfor the current period. Exceptional Items As part of our regular review of asset carrying values, a charge of US$142million (net of a taxation benefit of US$34 million) has been recorded inrelation to coal operations in South Africa. We have recognised a charge of US$117 million (net of a taxation benefit ofUS$50 million) for additional rehabilitation obligations in respect of formeroperations at the Newcastle Steelworks (Australia). The obligations relate tosediment in the Hunter River requiring remediation and treatment.+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+| | Gross| Tax| Net|| | | | ||Year ended 30 June 2007 | US$M| US$M| US$M|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+|Exceptional items by category | | | |+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+|Impairment of South African coal operations | (176)| 34| (142)|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+|Newcastle Steelworks rehabilitation | (167)| 50| (117)|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+| | (343)| 84| (259)|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+|Exceptional items by Customer Sector Group | | | |+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+|Energy Coal | (176)| 34| (142)|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+|Group & Unallocated | (167)| 50| (117)|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+| | (343)| 84| (259)|+----------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+ Last year we sold our interest in the Tintaya copper mine in Peru. The profit ondisposal was US$296 million (net of a taxation charge of US$143 million). Refer note 2 in the Financial Information for further details. Cash Flows Net operating cash flow after interest and tax increased by 48.9 per cent toUS$15.6 billion. Higher profits increased cash generated from operatingactivities, offset by an increase in working capital (principally due to higherprices) and increased taxation payments. Capital and exploration expenditure totalled US$7.2 billion for the period.Expenditure on major growth projects was US$5.1 billion, including US$1.7billion on Petroleum projects and US$3.4 billion on Minerals projects. Capitalexpenditure on maintenance, sustaining and minor capital items was US$1.2billion. Exploration expenditure was approximately US$800 million, includingUS$265 million which has been capitalised. Other investing cash flows includedthe purchase of interests in the Genghis Khan oil field, and the Guinea Aluminaproject. Financing cash flows include US$8.0 billion in relation to the capitalmanagement program and increased dividend payments. Net debt, comprising cash and interest-bearing liabilities, was US$8.7 billion,an increase of US$0.5 billion, or 5.7 per cent, compared to 30 June 2006.Gearing, which is the ratio of net debt to net debt plus net assets, was 22.5per cent at 30 June 2007, compared with 25.2 per cent at 30 June 2006. Underlying net debt (which varies from net debt above as it includes net debt ofjointly controlled entities) was US$10.0 billion up from US$9.2 billion at 30June 2006. Underlying gearing was 25.0 per cent at 30 June 2007 compared to 27.2per cent at 30 June 2006. Dividend A final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2007 of 27.0 US cents per share willbe paid to shareholders on 28 September 2007. Together with the interim dividendof 20.0 US cents per share paid to shareholders on 20 March 2007, this bringsthe total dividend for the year to 47.0 US cents per share. The dividend paid by BHP Billiton Limited will be fully franked for Australiantaxation purposes. Dividends for the BHP Billiton Group are determined anddeclared in US dollars. However, BHP Billiton Limited dividends are mainly paidin Australian dollars, and BHP Billiton Plc dividends are mainly paid in poundssterling and South African rands to shareholders on the UK section and the SouthAfrican section of the register, respectively. Currency conversions were basedon the foreign currency exchange rates two business days before the declarationof the dividend. Please note that all currency conversion elections need to haveoccurred by the Currency Conversion Date being 20 August 2007. Any currencyconversion elections made after this date will not apply to this dividend. The timetable in respect of this dividend will be:Currency conversion - 20 August 2007Last day to trade cum dividend on - 7 September 2007Johannesburg Stock Exchange Ex-dividend Australian Stock Exchange - 10 September 2007Ex-dividend Johannesburg Stock Exchange - 10 September 2007Ex-dividend London Stock Exchange - 12 September 2007Record - 14 September 2007Payment - 28 September 2007 American Depositary Shares (ADSs) each represent two fully paid ordinary sharesand receive dividends accordingly. BHP Billiton Plc shareholders registered on the South African section of theregister will not be able to dematerialise or rematerialise their shareholdings,nor will transfers between the UK register and the South African register bepermitted, between the dates of 10 September 2007 and 14 September 2007. The following table details the currency exchange rates applicable for thedividend:+--------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+|Dividend 27.0 US cents | Exchange Rate| Dividend per ordinary|| | | share in local currency|+--------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+|Australian cents | 0.802847| 33.630318|+--------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+|British pence | 1.986838| 13.589432|+--------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+|South African cents | 7.351446| 198.489042|+--------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+|New Zealand cents | 0.696900| 38.743005|+--------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+ Portfolio Management Our strategy is focused on long-life, low-cost, expandable assets and wecontinually review our portfolio to identify assets which do not fit thisstrategy. These activities continued during the year with proceeds of US$444million being recorded. We disposed of a number of assets and interestsincluding Southern Cross Fertilisers, 1 million tonnes of annual capacity in theRichards Bay Coal Terminal, Koornfontein, our Moranbah Coal Bed Methane assets,our interest in Eyesizwe and Alliance Copper. Proceeds from the sale ordistribution of our assets and interests over the last six years surpasses US$6billion. Also during the year we announced the potential sale of Optimum, an energy coalmine in South Africa. We will also purchase interests in assets where they fit our strategy. Weacquired interests in the Genghis Khan oil field for US$583 million and theGuinea Alumina project for US$140 million. Capital management and liquidity In October 2006 the Group signed a new US$3.0 billion multi-currency revolvingcredit facility. This new credit facility, which expires in October 2011,replaces the previous US$3.0 billion credit facility that was due to expire in2009. In February 2007, we issued €600 million (US$788 million) of Floating Rate Notesdue in 2008 and €600 million (US$788 million) of 4.375 per cent Euro Bonds duein 2014. The proceeds were used to refinance short-term debt. In March 2007 we filed a new shelf registration statement with the US Securitiesand Exchange Commission (SEC) and, during the same month, issued a SECregistered Global Bond comprising US$875 million of Floating Rate Notes due in2009, US$625 million of 5.125 per cent Senior Notes due in 2012, and US$750million of 5.40 per cent Senior Notes due in 2017. The proceeds were used forgeneral corporate purposes. Corporate Governance On 7 February 2007, Mr Charles (Chip) Goodyear announced his intention to retirefrom the Company on 1 January 2008. He will not seek re-election to the Boardand will retire as an Executive Director at the conclusion of the BHP BillitonLimited AGM on 28 November 2007. On 31 May 2007 the Board announced that MrMarius Kloppers will succeed Mr Goodyear as Chief Executive Officer of BHPBilliton, effective 1 October 2007. Mr Chris Lynch retired as an Executive Director on 30 June 2007. The membership of the Sustainability Committee changed during the year. Itsmembers are now Dr John Schubert (Chairman), Mr Paul Anderson and The Hon. EGail de Planque. Outlook Global macroeconomic outlook The global economy remains robust, driven by solid activity in Asia and Europe.Economic fundamentals remain relatively strong. Unemployment remains low and thesupply of labour is still constrained. This is resulting in rising wages andincreased household consumption. Asian economies, led by China, continue to demonstrate strong growth. India'seconomy continues to gather pace, recently recording its fastest economic growthrate in 18 years. In Europe, solid growth is being supported by accommodativemonetary conditions, rebounding consumption and strong German industrialactivity. The US economy continues to soften, with the housing sector acting asa drag on activity. The Japanese household sector is also experiencing weakness,increasing risks of deflation later in the year. Key central banks have reactedto recent global financial market instability by injecting liquidity in anattempt to calm markets. The rate of growth of the Chinese economy has shown no signs of abating witheconomic growth expected to be maintained or perhaps accelerate over the secondhalf of 2007. This has largely been driven by strong demand, domestic retailsales, healthy investment growth and exports. Continued monetary tightening, newexport taxes and cuts in value added tax rebates have had a minimal effect oneconomic behaviour to date. While the Chinese currency continues to appreciateagainst the US dollar, the appreciation has been controlled as the governmentdesires to limit speculative inflows. On the producer side, higher energy andraw material prices are likely to mean a gradual increase in factory gate pricesthrough the first half of 2008. We expect GDP growth close to 10 per cent for2008, with risks remaining to the upside. Despite moderating US economic growth, global economic fundamentals remainstrong and the ongoing strength shown by emerging Asian economies (includingChina) should support global growth. Moreover, the competitiveness of open Asianeconomies is likely to continue to place downward pressure on inflation whichshould in turn provide greater flexibility for accommodative monetary policystances taken by key central banks. Consumer spending in the US may slow through2008 due to wealth effects associated with the housing market deterioration.However, despite these risks, growth in the US is expected to be maintained aslow unemployment, low interest rates and a solid global economy support economicactivity. Solid domestic demand will remain a key driver of healthy economicgrowth in Europe. Our outlook for Japan remains unchanged with expected stronginvestment and further employment growth likely to promote an improvement inconsumption. Commodities outlook In 2007 real prices for all our major commodities remained at or near theirhighest levels since the 1970s as Chinese demand for raw materials continued.Over the last year the LME traded metals performed very well. Bulk commodityprices also continued to be strong and demand remains firm. Energy prices arevery strong with crude oil near record highs. Looking forward, supply sidepressures will remain high and demand growth from China is expected to remainrobust. With continuing strong demand, structurally higher cost sources ofsupply will be required. Higher energy prices are also likely to have a flow-oneffect to commodity prices. Recent discussions with our customers have indicated that they do not expect thevolatility in the US and European credit markets to have a material impact onraw material demand. In particular, our customers in China and India believedomestic supply and demand criteria are much more important factors in theirmarkets. We will continue to assess impacts from this recent volatility. Currencies of resource-rich countries should continue to be strong relative tothe US dollar, impacting commodity prices in US dollar terms. Major non-USconsumer countries like China are likely to be able to absorb these higherprices as their currencies have also strengthened against the US dollar. Over time we expect commodity prices to move towards long run marginal costs ofsupply. However, given strong demand and supply side constraints, this is onlylikely over the medium-term and, in the interim, prices are likely to stay highrelative to historical levels, albeit with increased volatility. Annual General Meetings The Annual General Meeting of BHP Billiton Plc will be held at the QueenElizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE,UK, on Thursday 25 October 2007, commencing at 10:30am. The Annual General Meeting of BHP Billiton Limited will be held at the HiltonAdelaide, Ballroom, 233 Victoria Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia onWednesday 28 November 2007, commencing at 10.30am. BHP Billiton Limited will accept nominations for the election of directors upuntil 4.30pm on 12 September 2007. The Annual Report and details of the business to be conducted at the meetingswill be mailed to shareholders in mid to late September 2007. CUSTOMER SECTOR GROUP SUMMARY The following table provides a summary of the performance of the Customer SectorGroups for the year ended 30 June 2007 and last year.+-------------------+------------------------------+------------------------------+| | | |+-------------------+------------------------------+------------------------------+|Year ended 30 June |Revenue together with share of| Underlying EBIT (1) ||(US$ Million) | jointly controlled entities' | || | revenues (1) | |+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+| | 2007| 2006| Change %|2007 | 2006| Change %|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+| | | | | | | |+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Petroleum | 5,885| 5,230| 12.5| 3,014| 2,968| 1.5|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Aluminium | 5,879| 5,084| 15.6| 1,856| 1,191| 55.8|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Base Metals | 12,635| 10,294| 22.7| 6,905| 5,400| 27.9|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Diamonds and | 893| 1,263| (29.3)| 261| 345| (24.3)||Specialty Products | | | | | | |+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Stainless Steel | 6,901| 2,955| 133.5| 3,697| 901| 310.3||Materials | | | | | | |+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Iron Ore | 5,524| 4,782| 15.5| 2,738| 2,537| 7.9|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Manganese | 1,244| 1,037| 20.0| 253| 132| 91.7|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Metallurgical Coal | 3,769| 3,941| (4.4)| 1,249| 1,834| (31.9)|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Energy Coal | 4,576| 3,965| 15.4| 484| 327| 48.0|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Group and | 770| 667| 15.4| (390)| (358)| N/A||unallocated items | | | | | | ||(2) | | | | | | |+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|Less: inter-segment| (603)| (119)| N/A| -| -| -||turnover | | | | | | |+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+|BHP Billiton Group | 47,473| 39,099| 21.4| 20,067| 15,277| 31.4|+-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+ (1) Revenue together with share of jointly controlled entities' revenues, andUnderlying EBIT include trading activities comprising the sale ofthird party product. Underlying EBIT is defined on page 16.(2) Includes consolidation adjustments, exploration and technology activities,unallocated items and external sales from the Group's freight, transport andlogistics operations. Petroleum Underlying EBIT was US$3,014 million, an increase of US$46 million, or 1.5 percent, compared to last year. This was mainly due to higher average realised oilprices per barrel of US$63.87 (compared with US$61.90) and higher averagerealised prices for liquefied petroleum gas of US$529.96 per tonne (compared toUS$483.74 per tonne). This was partially offset by lower average realisednatural gas prices of US$3.19 per thousand standard cubic feet (compared withUS$3.33). Production volumes were in line with last year despite no new majorproject start ups. The impact of foreign exchange (A$ and GBP) and price-linkedcosts was unfavourable. During the year we acquired a 44 per cent interest in the Genghis Khan oil andgas field. This development, together with Atlantis and Neptune (both Gulf ofMexico), Stybarrow (Australia) and Zamzama Phase 2 (Pakistan) is scheduled tocommence producing within the next six months, significantly increasingpetroleum production. Gross expenditure on exploration of US$395 million was US$52 million lower thanlast year. Exploration expenditure charged to profit was US$334 millionincluding US$82 million of previously capitalised expenditure. Aluminium Underlying EBIT was US$1,856 million, an increase of US$665 million or 55.8 percent over last year. Higher prices for aluminium and alumina had a favourableimpact, with the average LME aluminium price increasing to US$2,692 per tonne(compared with US$2,244 per tonne). Full year production records were achieved at the Worsley (Australia), Paranam (Suriname) and Alumar (Brazil) refineries, and the Hillside, Bayside and Mozalsmelters (Southern Africa). The recent expansion at Worsley reached nameplatecapacity in the fourth quarter. Favourable exchange rate movements as a result of a weaker Rand and foreignexchange contracts associated with the Alumar refinery expansion increasedUnderlying EBIT. Last year the write-down of our interest in Valesul (a smelterin Brazil) to fair value, in line with the value achieved on its subsequentdivestment, decreased Underlying EBIT by US$50 million. Earnings were adversely impacted by higher charges for electricity,depreciation, maintenance, raw materials and labour. Despite these higher costs,Underlying EBIT margins(1) improved to 40 per cent (30 per cent last year) andare at record levels. This improved translation of higher prices to the bottomline reflects an intensive focus on cost containment through various BusinessExcellence initiatives. The contribution from third party trading was lower thanthe comparative period. In April, we announced the acquisition of a 33.3 per cent interest in GlobalAlumina's refinery project in Guinea, West Africa. The project, to be known asthe Guinea Alumina Project, comprises the design, construction and operation ofa 3.2 mtpa alumina refinery, a 9.6 mtpa bauxite mine and associatedinfrastructure. Base Metals Underlying EBIT was US$6,905 million, an increase of US$1,505 million, or 27.9per cent, over last year. This increase is predominantly attributable to higheraverage LME prices for copper of US$3.21/lb (compared to US$2.28/lb), as well ashigher prices for lead, silver, zinc and gold. Record copper production, fromcontinuing operations, was achieved due to the commissioning of Spence inDecember 2006, the ramp-up of Sulphide Leach at Escondida and the recovery atCerro Colorado (Chile) following the earthquake. This was partially reduced bylower volumes at Olympic Dam due to a scheduled smelter shutdown, lower headgrades and lower tonnes milled. Lower volumes were also reported at Canningtonas the rehabilitation of ground support was successfully completed during theperiod. These gains were partially offset by higher labour and contractor costs, higherprice-linked costs at Antamina (Peru), higher fuel and energy charges and theimpact of industrial activity at Escondida. Increased expenditure on theCannington rehabilitation project and the combined effect of inflation and theimpact of a stronger A$/US$ exchange rate also negatively impacted the result.Higher costs were partially mitigated by cost reductions achieved throughseveral improvement projects which continue to deliver strong savings. Inaddition, the Olympic Dam Expansion pre-feasibility study expendituresincreased. The cessation of the contribution from Tintaya, which was sold inJune 2006, also reduced Underlying EBIT. Provisional pricing of copper shipments, including the impact of finalisationsand revaluations of outstanding shipments resulted in the calculated averagerealised price being $3.24/lb versus $2.66/lb last year. The positive impact ofprovisional pricing for the period was US$108 million. Outstanding coppervolumes, subject to the fair value measurement, amounted to 346,610 tonnes at 30June 2007. These were revalued at a weighted average price of US$7,152 pertonne. Diamonds and Specialty Products Underlying EBIT was US$261 million, a decrease of US$84 million, or 24.3 percent over last year. This was due to lower sales volumes for diamonds (down 23per cent following inventory sales in the prior year), and higher unit costsreflecting variations in the mix of ore processed. The cessation of earningsfrom the Southern Cross Fertiliser operation, which was sold effective 1 August2006, also had a negative impact. This was partially offset by higher value percarat diamonds and good performance at Richards Bay Minerals (South Africa) witha firm market for metallic and zircon co-products. Stainless Steel Materials Underlying EBIT was a record US$3,697 million, an increase of US$2,796 millionor 310 per cent over last year. Higher nickel and cobalt prices were the maincontributors with an average LME nickel price of US$17.21/lb (compared toUS$7.03/lb). The higher prices, (net of price-linked costs) added US$3,109million to underlying EBIT. Record annual nickel production was driven by strong performances at alloperations. Annual production at Yabulu (Australia) increased by almost 40 percent. Higher use of third party ore at Nickel West and Yabulu and higher costs at theKwinana refinery (all Australia) impacted Underlying EBIT negatively as did theimpact of the stronger A$/US$ exchange rate on operating costs at the Australianoperations. In addition, Underlying EBIT was impacted by higher electricity andgas costs at Cerro Matoso (Colombia) and higher maintenance and depreciation atYabulu. Exploration expenditure was higher than last year due to increased activity inWestern Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Guatemala. The comparative period included a US$61 million profit on the sale of BHPBilliton's interest in the Wonderkop joint venture (South Africa). Iron Ore Underlying EBIT was US$2,738 million up US$201 million, or 7.9 per cent overlast year. This was driven mainly by increased prices together with higher salesvolumes. Record production was achieved despite cyclonic events unfavourably impactingproduction in the third quarter. Record sales reflected business improvementinitiatives implemented to promote increased shipping efficiency. Higher operating costs had an adverse impact during the period, largelyattributable to the stronger A$/US$ exchange rate but also to higher contractorand labour costs, price-linked royalties, freight costs and demurrage. A numberof initiatives were undertaken during the year to minimise the impact ofexternal cost pressures on the business with the benefits mainly realised in thesecond six months of the year. Depreciation was higher, due to the commissioning of the expanded capacity atWestern Australia Iron Ore. Manganese Underlying EBIT was US$253 million up US$121 million compared to last year. Stronger demand drove increased sales volumes of manganese ore and higherprices for manganese alloy. Production volumes were also higher than last yearwith manganese alloy up 17 per cent and manganese ore setting a productionrecord, up 14 per cent. Operating costs were lower resulting from productionefficiencies but were partly offset by increased distribution costs. Metallurgical Coal Underlying EBIT was US$1,249 million, a decrease of US$585 million, or 31.9 percent over last year. This was mainly attributable to lower prices for hardcoking coal (down 10 per cent) and weak coking coal (down 32 per cent). Highersales volumes at both Queensland Coal and Illawarra Coal (Australia) impactedUnderlying EBIT. The increase in sales volumes at Queensland Coal was supportedby the expanded capacity at our Hay Point coal terminal. Royalties were lowerdue to lower prices. Operating costs were higher at Queensland Coal following the startup of the newlongwall panel at Broadmeadows and higher demurrage costs. Difficult miningconditions and an extended longwall change-out at Illawarra Coal also increasedoperating costs. A stronger A$/US$ exchange rate had an unfavourable impactacross our operations as did inflationary pressure. Depreciation and amortisation costs were higher due to commissioning of newprojects during the year, the write off of the coal dryer at Dendrobium (Australia) and higher amortisation of deferred development costs at IllawarraCoal. Energy Coal Underlying EBIT was US$484 million, an increase of US$157 million, or 48 percent, over last year. The increase was mainly attributable to higher exportprices resulting from continued strong demand and a favourable movement of theRand against the US dollar. The profit on divestment of Koornfontein, 1 milliontonnes of Richards Bay Coal Terminal annual capacity and the Eyesizwe investmentincreased Underlying EBIT. Despite adverse weather conditions in the last quarter and high demurrage costsin Australia, Hunter Valley Coal achieved record production volumes as well asincreased cost efficiencies. At Cerrejon Coal (Colombia) higher volumes also hada favourable impact on results. In South Africa unit costs were adverselyaffected by inflationary pressure, a redundancy provision for the closure of theDouglas underground mine and lower production as a result of safetyinterventions and equipment availability. The divestment of the Zululand Anthracite Colliery (South Africa) during theyear, reduced Underlying EBIT. Group and Unallocated items Underlying net corporate operating costs, excluding exchange impacts, wereUS$231 million compared to US$251 million in the corresponding period, adecrease of US$20 million. The current period benefited from lower insurance claims, offset by higher costsfor corporate projects, sponsorships, and regulatory compliance. One-off costs in relation to the acquisition of WMC were incurred in the priorperiod. There were no similar costs in this period. The minerals exploration group expenditure, charged to Corporate, increased fromUS$115 million to US$131 million in the current period, mainly due to increasedexploration activity on diamond targets in Angola and the Democratic Republic ofCongo, and on nickel targets in Australia. In addition, the prior year includeda US$60 million profit on the sale of an option held over an explorationproperty in Pakistan. The following notes explain the terms used throughout this profit release: (1) Underlying EBIT margin is calculated net of third party product activities (2) Net operating cash flow includes dividends from jointly controlled entitiesand is after net interest and taxation. (3) Unless otherwise stated production volumes exclude suspended and soldoperations. (4) Based on share price of US$20.57. (5) Underlying EBIT is earnings before net finance costs and taxation, andjointly controlled entities' net finance costs and taxation and any exceptionalitems. Underlying EBITDA is Underlying EBIT before depreciation, impairments,and amortisation of US$2,883 million (comprising Group depreciation, impairmentsand amortisation of US$2,550 million and jointly controlled entities'depreciation and amortisation of US$333 million) for the year ended 30 June 2007and US$2,776 million (comprising Group depreciation, impairments andamortisation of US$2,427 million and jointly controlled entities' depreciationand amortisation of US$349 million) for the year ended 30 June 2006. We believethat Underlying EBIT and Underlying EBITDA provide useful information, butshould not be considered as an indication of, or alternative to, attributableprofit as an indicator of operating performance or as an alternative to cashflow as a measure of liquidity. (6) Underlying EBIT is used to reflect the underlying performance of BHPBilliton's operations. Underlying EBIT is reconciled to EBIT - Profit fromoperations on page 5. (7) For this purpose, net interest includes net finance costs of jointlycontrolled entities, and capitalised interest and excludes the effect ofdiscounting on provisions and other liabilities, fair value change on hedgedloans, net of hedging derivatives, and exchange differences arising from netdebt. Forward-looking statements Certain statements contained in this release,including statements in the section entitled 'Record Annual Results', Creatingoptions for the Future' and 'Outlook', may constitute 'forward-lookingstatements' within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation ReformAct of 1995. We undertake no obligation to revise the forward-looking statementsincluded in this release to reflect any future events or circumstances. Ouractual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from theresults expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factorsthat could cause or contribute to such differences are discussed in the sectionsentitled 'Key Information - Risk factors'; 'Operating and financial review andprospects - Our Business - External Factors Affecting Our Results' and 'Trendsand Uncertainties' included in our annual report on Form 20-F as amended by ourForm 20-F/A for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2006, which we filed with the USSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 25 September 2006 and 18 December2006, respectively, and are available on the SEC's website at 'www.sec.gov'.Nothing in this release should be construed as either an offer to sell or asolicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities in any jurisdiction. Further information on BHP Billiton can be found on our Internet site: www.bhpbilliton.com Australia United Kingdom Samantha Evans, Mark Lidiard, Media Relations Investor & Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 2898 Tel: +44 20 7802 4156 Mobile: +61 400 693 915 Mobile: +44 7769 934 942 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] Jane Belcher, Investor Relations Illtud Harri, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 3952 Tel: +44 20 7802 4195 Mobile: +61 417 031 653 Mobile: +44 7920 237 246 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] United States South Africa Tracey Whitehead, Alison Gilbert, Investor & Media Relations Investor Relations Tel: US +1 713 599 6100 or Tel: SA +27 11 376 2121 or UK +44 20 7802 4031 UK +44 20 7802 4183 Mobile: +44 7917 648 093 Mobile: +44 7769 936 227 email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] FINANCIAL INFORMATION For the year ended 30 June 2007 CONTENTS Financial InformationConsolidated Income Statement - Page 19 Consolidated Statement of Recognised - Page 20 Income and Expense Consolidated Balance Sheet - Page 21 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement - Page 22 Notes to the Financial Information - Page 23 The financial information included in this document for the year ended 30 June2007 is unaudited and has been derived from the draft financial report of theBHP Billiton Group for the year ended 30 June 2007. The financial informationdoes not constitute the Group's full financial statements for the year ended 30June 2007, which will be approved by the Board and reported on by the auditorsand subsequently filed with the registrar of companies and the AustralianSecurities and Investments Commission. The financial information set out on pages 19 to 30 for the year ended 30 June2007 has been prepared on the basis of accounting policies consistent with thoseapplied in the 30 June 2006 financial statements contained within the AnnualReport of the BHP Billiton Group, except for the following interpretations whichhave been adopted for the year ended 30 June 2007: * IFRIC 4/AASB Interpretation 4 'Determining Whether an Arrangement Contains a Lease' * IFRIC 8/ AASB Interpretation 8 'Scope of IFRS 2' * IFRIC 9/ AASB Interpretation 9 'Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives' * IFRIC 10/ AASB Interpretation 10 'Interim Financial Reporting and Impairment' The application of the above interpretations did not have a material impact onthe current or comparative periods. The comparative information has also been prepared on this basis, with theexception of IAS 32/AASB 132 'Financial Instruments: Disclosure andPresentation' and IAS 39/AASB 139 'Financial Instruments: Recognition andMeasurement' which were adopted effective 1 July 2005. The comparative figures for the financial years ended 30 June 2006 and 30 June2005 are not the statutory accounts of BHP Billiton Plc for those financialyears. Those accounts have been reported on by the Company's auditors anddelivered to the registrar of companies. The reports of the auditors were (i)unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which theauditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and(iii) did not contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the UKCompanies Act 1985. All amounts are expressed in US dollars unless otherwise stated. The BHPBilliton Group's presentation currency and the functional currency of themajority of its operations is US dollars as this is the principal currency ofthe economic environment in which it operates. Amounts in this financial information have, unless otherwise indicated, beenrounded to the nearest million dollars. Consolidated Income Statementfor the year ended 30 June 2007 +--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | 2007| 2006| 2005|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | Notes| US$M| US$M| US$M|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Revenue together with share of jointly| | | | ||controlled entities' revenue | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Group production | | 41,271| 34,139| 24,759|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Third party products | | 6,202| 4,960| 6,391|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | 47,473| 39,099| 31,150|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Less: Share of jointly controlled | | (7,975)| (6,946)| (4,428)||entities' external revenue included | | | | ||above | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Revenue | | 39,498| 32,153| 26,722|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Other income | | 588| 1,227| 757|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Expenses excluding net finance costs | | (26,352)| (22,403)| (19,995)|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Share of profits from jointly | 3| 4,667| 3,694| 1,787||controlled entities | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit from operations | | 18,401| 14,671| 9,271|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Comprising: | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Group production | | 18,327| 14,560| 9,157|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Third party products | | 74| 111| 114|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | 18,401| 14,671| 9,271|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Financial income | 4| 260| 226| 216|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Financial expenses | 4| (650)| (731)| (547)|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Net finance costs | 4| (390)| (505)| (331)|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit before taxation | | 18,011| 14,166| 8,940|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Income tax expense | | (4,174)| (3,207)| (1,876)|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Royalty related taxation (net of | | (341)| (425)| (436)||income tax benefit) | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Total taxation expense | 5| (4,515)| (3,632)| (2,312)|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit after taxation | | 13,496| 10,534| 6,628|+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit attributable to minority | | 80| 84| 232||interests | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Profit attributable to members of BHP | | 13,416| 10,450| 6,396||Billiton Group | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Earnings per ordinary share (basic) | 6| 229.5| 173.2| 104.4||(US cents) | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Earnings per ordinary share (diluted) | 6| 229.0| 172.4| 104.0||(US cents) | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Dividends per ordinary share - paid | 7| 38.5| 32.0| 23.0||during the period (US cents) | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+|Dividends per ordinary share - | 7| 47.0| 36.0| 28.0||declared in respect of the period (US | | | | ||cents) | | | | |+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ The accompanying notes form part of this financial information. Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and Expensefor the year ended 30 June 2007+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+| | | 2007| 2006| 2005|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+| | | US$M| US$M| US$M|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Profit after taxation | | 13,496| 10,534| 6,628|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Amounts recognised directly in equity | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Actuarial gains/(losses) on pension and medical| | 79| 111| (149)||schemes | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Available for sale investments: | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Valuation gains/(losses) taken to equity | | 147| (1)| -|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Cash flow hedges: | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Losses taken to equity | | (50)| (27)| -|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Gains transferred to the initial carrying | | (88)| (25)| -||amount of hedged items | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Exchange fluctuations on translation of foreign| | 12| (1)| 7||operations | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Tax on items recognised directly in, or | | 82| 4| 52||transferred from, equity | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Total amounts recognised directly in equity | | 182| 61| (90)|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Total recognised income and expense for the | | 13,678| 10,595| 6,538||year | | | | |+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Attributable to minority interests | | 82| 84| 232|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+|Attributable to members of BHP Billiton Group | | 13,596| 10,511| 6,306|+-----------------------------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+ The accompanying notes form part of this financial information. Consolidated Balance Sheetas at 30 June 2007+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+| | | 2007| 2006|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+| | Notes| US$M| US$M|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|ASSETS | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Current assets | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Cash and cash equivalents | | 1,937| 776|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Trade and other receivables | | 4,689| 3,831|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Other financial assets | | 952| 808|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Inventories | | 3,296| 2,732|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Assets held for sale | | -| 469|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Other | | 213| 160|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total current assets | | 11,087| 8,776|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Non-current assets | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Trade and other receivables | | 810| 813|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Other financial assets | | 1,016| 950|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Inventories | | 113| 93|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Investments in jointly controlled entities | | 4,924| 4,299|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Property, plant and equipment | | 36,705| 30,985|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Intangible assets | | 615| 683|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Deferred tax assets | | 2,810| 1,829|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Other | | 88| 88|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total non-current assets | | 47,081| 39,740|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total assets | | 58,168| 48,516|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|LIABILITIES | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Current liabilities | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Trade and other payables | | 4,724| 4,053|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Interest bearing liabilities | | 1,352| 1,368|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Liabilities held for sale | | -| 192|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Other financial liabilities | | 512| 544|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Current tax payable | | 2,102| 1,358|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Provisions | | 1,259| 1,067|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Deferred income | | 300| 279|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total current liabilities | | 10,249| 8,861|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Non-current liabilities | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Trade and other payables | | 145| 169|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Interest bearing liabilities | | 9,291| 7,648|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Other financial liabilities | | 595| 289|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Deferred tax liabilities | | 1,822| 1,592|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Provisions | | 5,601| 4,853|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Deferred income | | 547| 649|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total non-current liabilities | | 18,001| 15,200|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total liabilities | | 28,250| 24,061|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Net assets | | 29,918| 24,455|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+| | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|EQUITY | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Share capital - BHP Billiton Limited | | 1,221| 1,490|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Share capital - BHP Billiton Plc | | 1,183| 1,234|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Share premium account | | 518| 518|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Treasury shares held | | (1,457)| (418)|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Reserves | | 473| 306|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Retained earnings | | 27,729| 21,088|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total equity attributable to members of BHP Billiton | 9| 29,667| 24,218||Group | | | |+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Minority interests | 9| 251| 237|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+|Total equity | | 29,918| 24,455|+---------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+ The accompanying notes form part of this financial information. Consolidated Statement of Cash FlowsFor the year ended 30 June 2007+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+| | | 2007| 2006| 2005|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+| | | US$M| US$M| US$M|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Operating activities | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Receipts from customers | | 40,284| 32,938| 28,425|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Payments to suppliers and employees | | (24,330)| (20,944)| (18,801)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Cash generated from operations | | 15,954| 11,994| 9,624|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+| | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Dividends received | | 4,257| 2,671| 1,002|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Interest received | | 138| 121| 90|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Interest paid | | (518)| (499)| (315)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Income tax paid | | (3,682)| (3,152)| (1,476)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Royalty related taxation paid | | (554)| (659)| (551)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Net operating cash flows | | 15,595| 10,476| 8,374|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Investing activities | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Purchases of property, plant and | | (6,365)| (5,239)| (3,450)||equipment | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Exploration expenditure (including | | (793)| (766)| (531)||amounts expensed) | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Purchase of intangibles | | (18)| -| -|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Purchases of investments and funding of | | (155)| (65)| (42)||jointly controlled entities | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Purchases of, or increased investment in,| | (701)| (531)| (6,198)||subsidiaries, operations and jointly | | | | ||controlled entities, net of their cash | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Cash outflows from investing activities | | (8,032)| (6,601)| (10,221)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Proceeds from sale of property, plant and| | 77| 92| 153||equipment | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Proceeds from sale or redemption of | | 128| 153| 227||investments | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Proceeds from sale or partial sale of | | 203| 844| 675||subsidiaries, operations and jointly | | | | ||controlled entities, net of their cash | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Net investing cash flows | | (7,624)| (5,512)| (9,166)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Financing activities | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Proceeds from ordinary share issues | | 22| 34| 66|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Proceeds from interest bearing | | 6,679| 5,912| 5 668||liabilities | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Repayment of interest bearing liabilities| | (5,297)| (7,013)| (1,735)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Purchase of shares by Employee Share | | (165)| (187)| (47)||Ownership Plan Trusts | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Share buy-back - BHP Billiton Limited | | (2,824)| (1,619)| (1,792)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Share buy-back - BHP Billiton Plc | | (2,917)| (409)| -|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Dividends paid | | (2,271)| (1,936)| (1,404)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Dividends paid to minority interests | | (68)| (190)| (238)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Repayment of finance leases | | (2)| (4)| (22)|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Net financing cash flows | | (6,843)| (5,412)| 496|+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Net increase / (decrease) in cash and | | 1,128| (448)| (296)||cash equivalents | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Cash and cash equivalents, net of | | 760| 1,207| 1,509||overdrafts, at beginning of year | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Effect of foreign currency exchange rate | | 11| 1| (6)||changes on cash and cash equivalents | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+|Cash and cash equivalents, net of | | 1,899| 760| 1,207||overdrafts, at end of year | | | | |+-----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+ The accompanying notes form part of this financial information. Notes to the Financial Information 1 Business segments The BHP Billiton Group has grouped its major operating assets into the followingCustomer Sector Groups (CSGs): * Petroleum (exploration for and production, processing and marketing of hydrocarbons including oil, gas and LNG) * Aluminium (exploration for and mining of bauxite, processing and marketing of aluminium and alumina) * Base Metals (exploration for and mining, processing and marketing of copper, silver, zinc, lead, uranium and copper by-products including gold) * Diamonds and Specialty Products (exploration for and mining of diamonds and titanium minerals, and prior to divestment in August 2006, fertiliser operations) * Stainless Steel Materials (exploration for and mining, processing and marketing of nickel) * Iron Ore (exploration for and mining, processing and marketing of iron ore) * Manganese (exploration for and mining, processing and marketing of manganese) * Metallurgical Coal (exploration for and mining, processing and marketing of metallurgical coal) * Energy Coal (exploration for and mining, processing and marketing of energy coal) Due to recent growth, and a change in internal reporting structure, Iron Ore,Manganese and Metallurgical Coal, which were previously reported as the CarbonSteel Materials CSG are now reported as separate CSGs. Comparative disclosureshave been restated based on the current reporting structure. During the 2006 fiscal year, following a change in management responsibilities,our minerals exploration and technology functions were removed from the Diamondsand Specialty Products CSG and are now reported as part of Group and unallocateditems. This change in segment reporting has been reflected in all periodspresented and resulted in operating costs in 2006 of US$71 million (2005: US$69million) being reported in Group and unallocated items rather than Diamonds andSpecialty Products. Group and unallocated items represent Group centre functions and certaincomparative data for divested assets and investments and exploration andtechnology activities. It is the Group's policy that inter-segment sales are made on a commercialbasis. Notes to the Financial Information continued 1 Business segments (continued)US$M Petroleum Aluminium Base Diamonds Stainless Iron Manganese Metallurgical Energy Group and BHP Metals and Steel Ore Coal Coal unallocated Billiton Specialty Materials items/ Group Products eliminations Year Ended 30 June 2007 Revenue together with share of jointly controlled entities' revenue from external customers Sale of group 4,846 4,564 10,756 893 6,800 5,421 1,149 3,712 2,980 14 41,135production Sale of third 454 1,315 1,879 - 101 29 95 10 1,595 724 6,202party product Rendering of 7 - - - - 55 - 41 1 32 136services Inter-segment 578 - - - - 19 - 6 - (603) -revenue 5,885 5,879 12,635 893 6,901 5,524 1,244 3,769 4,576 167 47,473Less: share (6) - (6,510) (359) - (599) - - (488) (13) (7,975)of jointly controlled entities' external revenue included above Segment 5,879 5,879 6,125 534 6,901 4,925 1,244 3,769 4,088 154 39,498revenue Segment 2,977 1,540 1,872 70 3,687 2,444 253 1,242 35 (386) 13,734result Other 37 23 12 2 10 - - 1 68 (153) -attributable income (1) Share of - 259 3,920 116 - 239 - 4 149 (20) 4,667profits from jointly controlled entities Profit from 3,014 1,822 5,804 188 3,697 2,683 253 1,247 252 (559) 18,401operations Net finance (390)costs Taxation (4,174)Royalty (341)related taxation Profit after 13,496taxation Adjusted 3,789 2,042 6,025 281 4,078 2,934 294 1,498 660 (451) 21,150EBITDA Other (4) 30 145 - (106) (49) (1) 7 15 (60) (23)significant non-cash items EBITDA 3,785 2,072 6,170 281 3,972 2,885 293 1,505 675 (511) 21,127Depreciation (689) (235) (358) (93) (275) (202) (40) (236) (247) (46) (2,421)and amortisation Impairment (82) (15) (13) - - - - (22) (176) (2) (310)losses recognised Reversals of - - 5 - - - - - - - 5previous impairment Losses recognised Profit from 3,014 1,822 5,804 188 3,697 2,683 253 1,247 252 (559) 18,401operations Profit from 3,010 1,796 5,892 188 3,697 2,684 251 1,246 122 (559) 18,327group production Profit from 4 26 (88) - - (1) 2 1 130 - 74third party product Capital 1,687 361 568 144 1,509 1,186 72 555 242 41 6,365expenditure Segment 9,464 6,269 9,740 1,620 7,745 4,489 971 3,066 3,230 6,650 53,244assets Investments 127 675 2,943 157 - 326 - 2 690 4 4,924in jointly controlled entities Total assets 9,591 6,944 12,683 1,777 7,745 4,815 971 3,068 3,920 6,654 58,168Segment 2,524 996 2,696 184 1,150 1,103 381 878 2,062 16,276 28,250liabilities (1) Other attributable income represents the re-allocation of certain itemsrecorded in the segment result of Group and unallocated items / eliminations tothe applicable CSG / business segment. 1 Business segments (continued) US$M Petroleum Aluminium Base Diamonds Stainless Iron Manganese Metallurgical Energy Group and BHP Metals and Steel Ore Coal Coal unallocated Billiton Specialty Materials items/ Group Products eliminations Year Ended 30 June 2006 Revenue together with share of jointly controlled entities' revenue from external customers Sale of group 4,797 3,704 9,034 1,263 2,916 4,735 965 3,926 2,713 5 34,058production Sale of third 321 1,374 1,259 - 37 15 72 1 1,252 629 4,960party product Rendering of 3 6 1 - - 32 - 6 - 33 81services Inter-segment 109 - - - 2 - - 8 - (119) -revenue 5,230 5,084 10,294 1,263 2,955 4,782 1,037 3,941 3,965 548 39,099Less: share (5) (107) (5,393) (377) - (593) (33) - (438) - (6,946)of jointly controlled entities' external revenue included above Segment 5,225 4,977 4,901 886 2,955 4,189 1,004 3,941 3,527 548 32,153revenue Segment 2,963 917 1,998 209 901 2,201 126 1,832 131 (301) 10,977result Other 5 37 - - - - 8 1 - (51) -attributable income (1) Share of - 193 3,015 91 - 263 (2) 1 139 (6) 3,694profits from jointly controlled entities Profit from 2,968 1,147 5,013 300 901 2,464 132 1,834 270 (358) 14,671operations Net finance (505)costs Taxation (3,207)Royalty (425)related taxation Profit after 10,534taxation Adjusted 3,798 1,468 5,093 396 1,185 2,598 172 2,002 500 (242) 16,970EBITDA Other (7) (44) 267 (3) (41) 21 (1) (5) 17 (76) 128significant non-cash items EBITDA 3,791 1,424 5,360 393 1,144 2,619 171 1,997 517 (318) 17,098Depreciation (720) (227) (339) (93) (243) (154) (39) (163) (247) (39) (2,264)and amortisation Impairment (113) (50) (8) - - (1) - - - (1) (173)losses recognised Reversals of 10 - - - - - - - - - 10previous impairment Losses recognised Profit from 2,968 1,147 5,013 300 901 2,464 132 1,834 270 (358) 14,671operations Profit from 2,963 1,071 5,017 300 901 2,462 137 1,834 233 (358) 14,560group production Profit from 5 76 (4) - - 2 (5) - 37 - 111third party product Capital 1,124 366 861 202 1,423 884 45 677 131 41 5,754expenditure Segment 7,420 6,061 9,419 1,630 5,692 3,462 836 2,607 3,018 4,050 44,195assets Investments 112 551 2,511 115 - 386 24 - 622 - 4,321in jointly controlled entities Total assets 7,532 6,612 11,930 1,745 5,692 3,848 860 2,607 3,640 4,050 48,516Segment 2,208 1,048 2,617 178 898 1,047 340 749 1,759 13,217 24,061liabilities (1) Other attributable income represents the re-allocation of certain itemsrecorded in the segment result of Group and unallocated items / eliminations tothe applicable CSG / business segment. 1 Business segments (continued)US$M Petroleum Aluminium Base Diamonds Stainless Iron Manganese Metallurgical Energy Group and BHP Metals and Steel Ore Coal Coal unallocated Billiton Specialty Materials items/ Group Products eliminations Year Ended 30 June 2005 Revenue together with share of jointly controlled entities' revenue from external customers Sale of group 3,953 3,103 4,372 986 2,265 3,311 1,334 2,653 2,718 3 24,698production Sale of third 1,500 1,543 670 523 9 42 105 91 1,124 784 6,391party product Rendering of - - 1 - - 29 - 5 - 26 61services Inter-segment 62 5 - - - - - 27 - (94) -revenue 5,515 4,651 5,043 1,509 2,274 3,382 1,439 2,776 3,842 719 31,150Less: share (3) (80) (2,714) (778) (8) (384) (45) - (416) - (4,428)of jointly controlled entities' external revenue included above Segment 5,512 4,571 2,329 731 2,266 2,998 1,394 2,776 3,426 719 26,722revenue Segment 2,523 758 481 429 828 875 569 886 319 (184) 7,484result Other 6 26 - 19 25 - - 2 1 (79) -attributable income (1) Share of - 139 1,285 77 1 148 - - 137 - 1,787profits from jointly controlled entities Profit from 2,529 923 1,766 525 854 1,023 569 888 457 (263) 9,271operations Net finance (331)costs Taxation (1,876)Royalty (436)related taxation Profit after 6,628taxation Adjusted 3,151 1,122 1,952 710 1,014 1,329 607 1,162 740 (65) 11,722EBITDA Other - 15 (33) (14) (19) (174) - (144) (95) (169) (633)significant non-cash items EBITDA 3,151 1,137 1,919 696 995 1,155 607 1,018 645 (234) 11,089Depreciation (616) (214) (153) (171) (141) (132) (38) (130) (179) (27) (1,801)and amortisation Impairment (6) - - - - - - - (9) (2) (17)losses recognised Reversals of - - - - - - - - - - -previous impairment Losses recognised Profit from 2,529 923 1,766 525 854 1,023 569 888 457 (263) 9,271operations Profit from 2,515 902 1,777 503 854 1,028 552 886 403 (263) 9,157group production Profit from 14 21 (11) 22 - (5) 17 2 54 - 114third party product Capital 898 268 345 239 475 468 68 527 164 31 3,483expenditure Segment 6,448 5,398 7,880 1,429 4,377 2,081 808 1,996 2,359 5,813 38,589assets Investments 112 509 1,633 115 - 304 32 - 549 - 3,254in jointly controlled entities Total assets 6,560 5,907 9,513 1,544 4,377 2,385 840 1,996 2,908 5,813 41,843Segment 1,955 745 2,240 162 612 870 290 743 1,558 14,752 23,927liabilities (1) Other attributable income represents the re-allocation of certain itemsrecorded in the segment result of Group and unallocated items / eliminations tothe applicable CSG / business segment. 2 Exceptional items Exceptional items are those items where their nature and amount is consideredmaterial to the financial report. Such items included within the BHP BillitonGroup profit for the year are detailed below.+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+| | Gross| Tax| Net|| | US$M| US$M| US$M||Year ended 30 June 2007 | | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Exceptional items by category | | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Impairment of South African coal | (176)| 34| (142)||operations | | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Newcastle steelworks rehabilitation | (167)| 50| (117)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+| | (343)| 84| (259)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Exceptional items by Customer Sector Group| | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Energy Coal | (176)| 34| (142)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Group & Unallocated | (167)| 50| (117)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+| | (343)| 84| (259)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+ Impairment of South African coal operationsAs part of the Group's regular review of assets whose value may be impaired, acharge of US$176 million (US$34 million tax benefit) has been recorded inrelation to coal operations in South Africa. Newcastle steelworks rehabilitationThe Group recognised a charge against profits of US$167 million (US$50 milliontax benefit) for additional rehabilitation obligations in respect of formeroperations at the Newcastle steelworks (Australia). The increase in obligationsrelate to increases in the volume of sediment in the Hunter River requiringremediation and treatment, and increases in treatment costs.+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+| | Gross| Tax| Net|| | US$M| US$M| US$M||Year ended 30 June 2006 | | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Exceptional items by category | | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Sale of Tintaya copper mine | 439| (143)| 296|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Exceptional items by Customer Sector Group| | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Base Metals | 439| (143)| 296|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+ Sale of Tintaya copper mineEffective 1 June 2006, BHP Billiton sold its interests in the Tintaya coppermine in Peru. Gross consideration received was US$853 million, before deductingintercompany trade balances. The net consideration of US$717 million (net oftransaction costs) included US$634 million for shares plus the assumption ofUS$116 million of debt, working capital adjustments and deferred paymentscontingent upon future copper prices and production volumes.+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+| | Gross| Tax| Net|| | | | ||Year ended 30 June 2005 | US$M| US$M| US$M|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Exceptional items by category | | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Sale of Laminaria and Corallina | 134| (10)| 124|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Disposal of Chrome operations | 142| (6)| 136|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Termination of operations | (266)| 80| (186)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Closure plans | (121)| 17| (104)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Total by category | (111)| 81| (30)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Exceptional items by Customer Sector Group| | | |+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Petroleum | 134| (10)| 124|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Base Metals | (29)| (4)| (33)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Carbon Steel Materials | (285)| 80| (205)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Energy Coal | (73)| 21| (52)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Stainless Steel Materials | 142| (6)| 136|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+|Total by Customer Sector Group | (111)| 81| (30)|+------------------------------------------+--------------+------------+------------+ Sale of Laminaria and CorallinaIn January 2005, the Group disposed of its interest in the Laminaria andCorallina oil fields. Proceeds on the sale were US$130 million resulting in aprofit before tax of US$134 million (US$10 million tax expense). Disposal of Chrome operationsEffective 1 June 2005, BHP Billiton disposed of its economic interest in themajority of its South African chrome business. The total proceeds on the salewere US$421 million, resulting in a profit before tax of US$127 million (US$1million tax expense). In addition, the Group sold its interest in the Palmietchrome business in May 2005 for proceeds of US$12 million, resulting in a profitbefore tax of US$15 million (US$5 million tax expense). Provision for termination of operationsThe Group decided to decommission the Boodarie Iron operations and a charge ofUS$266 million (US$80 million tax benefit) relating to termination of theoperation was recognised. The charge primarily relates to settlement of existingcontractual arrangements, plant decommissioning, site rehabilitation, redundancyand other closure related costs/charges associated with the closure. Closure plansAs part of the Group's regular review of decommissioning and site restorationplans, the Group reassessed plans in respect of certain closed operations. Atotal charge of US$121 million (US$104 million after tax) was recorded andincluded a charge of US$73 million (US$21 million tax benefit) for closed minesat Ingwe in relation to revision of the Group's assessed rehabilitationobligation, predominantly resulting from revised water management plans and acharge of US$48 million (US$4 million tax expense) in relation to other closedmining operations. 3 Investments accounted for using the equity method+--------------------+--+------------------------------+-----------------------------+|Major shareholdings | | Ownership interest at BHP |Contribution to profit after ||in jointly | |Billiton Group reporting date | taxation ||controlled entities | | (a) | || | | | || | | | |+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+| | | 30 June| 30 June| 30 June| 30 June| 30 June| 30 June|| | | 2007| 2006| 2005| 2007| 2006| 2005|| | | %| %| %| US$M| US$M| US$M|+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Samarco Mineracao SA| | 50| 50| 50| 239| 262| 148|+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Minera Antamina SA | | 33.75| 33.75| 33.75| 506| 437| 194|+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Carbones del | | 33.3| 33.3| 33.3| 112| 97| 111||Cerrejon LLC | | | | | | | |+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Minera Escondida | | 57.5| 57.5| 57.5| 3,442| 2,595| 1,090||Limitada | | | | | | | |+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Mozal SARL | | 47.1| 47.1| 47.1| 259| 185| 130|+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Valesul Aluminio SA | | -| 45.5| 45.5| -| 8| 9||(b) | | | | | | | |+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Other (c) | | | | | 109| 110| 105|+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+|Total | | | | | 4,667| 3,694| 1,787|+--------------------+--+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ (a) The ownership interest at BHP Billiton's reporting date and the jointly controlledentity's reporting date are the same. Whilst the annual financial reporting date may be different to BHP Billiton's, financial information is obtained as at 30 June in order to report on a consistent basis with BHP Billiton's reporting date. (b) Subsequent to 30 June 2006, the BHP Billiton Group sold its interest in Valesul Aluminio SA. (c) Includes immaterial jointly controlled entities and the Richards Bay Minerals joint venture owned 50% (30 June 2006: 50%; 30 June 2005: 50%). 4 Net finance costs+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | US$M| US$M| US$M|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Financial expenses | | | |+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Interest on bank loans and overdrafts | 22| 134| 34|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Interest on all other loans | 535| 382| 254|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Finance lease and hire purchase interest | 5| 6| 6|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Dividends on redeemable preference shares | 1| 17| 25|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Discounting on provisions and other liabilities | 251| 266| 173|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Discounting on pension and medical benefit | 127| 108| 114||entitlements | | | |+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Interest capitalised (a) | (353)| (144)| (78)|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Net fair value change on hedged loans and related | 25| (30)| -||hedging derivatives | | | |+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Exchange differences on net debt | 37| (8)| 19|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 650| 731| 547|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Financial income | | | |+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Interest income | (151)| (123)| (118)|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Return on pension plan assets | (109)| (103)| (98)|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | (260)| (226)| (216)|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Net finance costs | 390| 505| 331|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+ (a) Interest has been capitalised at the rate of interest applicable to thespecific borrowings financing the assets under construction or, where financedthrough general borrowings, at a capitalisation rate representing the averageinterest rate on such borrowings. For the year ended 30 June 2007 thecapitalisation rate was 5.7 per cent (2006: 5.0 per cent; 2005: 4.6 per cent). 5 Taxation+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+| | Year ended| Year ended| Year ended|| |30 June 2007| 30 June| 30 June|| | | 2006| 2005|+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+| | US$M| US$M| US$M|+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+|Taxation expense including royalty related | | | ||taxation | | | |+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+|UK taxation expense | 85| 294| 206|+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+|Australian taxation expense | 2,768| 2,547| 1,613|+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+|Overseas taxation expense | 1,662| 791| 493|+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+|Total taxation expense | 4,515| 3,632| 2,312|+----------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+ 6 Earnings per share+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005|+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+|Basic earnings per share (US cents) | 229.5| 173.2| 104.4|+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+|Diluted earnings per share (US cents) | 229.0| 172.4| 104.0|+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+|Basic earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) | 459.0| 346.4| 208.8||(US cents) (a) | | | |+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+|Diluted earnings per American Depositary Share | 458.0| 344.8| 208.0||(ADS) (US cents) (a) | | | |+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+|Basic earnings (US$ million) | 13,416| 10,450| 6,396|+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+|Diluted earnings (US$ million) (b) | 13,434| 10,456| 6,399|+---------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+ The weighted average number of shares used for the purposes of calculatingdiluted earnings per share reconciles to the number used to calculate basicearnings per share as follows: +---------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005|+---------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Weighted average number of shares | Million| Million| Million|+---------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Basic earnings per share denominator | 5,846| 6,035| 6,124|+---------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Shares and options contingently issuable under | 20| 31| 32||employee share ownership plans | | | |+---------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Diluted earnings per share denominator | 5,866| 6,066| 6,156|+---------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+ (a) Each ADS represents two ordinary shares.(b) Diluted earnings are calculated after adding back dividend equivalentpayments of US$18 million (2006: US$6 million; 2005: US$3 million) that wouldnot be made if potential ordinary shares were converted to fully paid. 7 Dividends+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | US$M| US$M| US$M|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Dividends paid during the period | | | |+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|BHP Billiton Limited | 1,346| 1,148| 842|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|BHP Billiton Plc - Ordinary shares | 923| 790| 567|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| - Preference shares (a) | -| -| -|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2,269| 1,938| 1,409|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | | | |+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Dividends declared in respect of the period | | | |+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|BHP Billiton Limited | 1,605| 1,275| 1,004|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|BHP Billiton Plc - Ordinary shares | 1,097| 885| 691|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| - Preference shares (a) | -| -| -|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2,702| 2,160| 1,695|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+ +------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | US cents| US cents| US cents|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Dividends paid during the period (per share) | | | |+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Prior year final dividend | 18.5| 14.5| 9.5|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Interim dividend | 20.0| 17.5| 13.5|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 38.5| 32.0| 23.0|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Dividends declared in respect of the period (per | | | ||share) | | | |+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Interim dividend | 20.0| 17.5| 13.5|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Final dividend | 27.0| 18.5| 14.5|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 47.0| 36.0| 28.0|+------------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+ Dividends are declared after period end in the announcement of the results forthe period. Interim dividends are declared in February and paid in March. Finaldividends are declared in August and paid in September. Dividends declared arenot recorded as a liability at the end of the period to which they relate.Subsequent to year end, on 22 August 2007, BHP Billiton declared a finaldividend of 27.0 US cents per share (US$1,528 million), which will be paid on 28September 2007 (2006: 18.5 US cents per share - US$1,100 million; 2005: 14.5 UScents per share - US$878 million). Each American Depositary Share (ADS) represents two ordinary shares of BHPBilliton Limited or BHP Billiton Plc. Dividends declared on each ADS representtwice the dividend declared on BHP Billiton shares. BHP Billiton Limited dividends for all periods presented are, or will be, fullyfranked based on a tax rate of 30%.+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+| | US$M| US$M| US$M|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Franking credits as at 30 June | 144| 20| 115|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Franking credits arising from the payment of current | 923| 811| 213||tax payable | | | |+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+|Total franking credits available (b) | 1,067| 831| 328|+-----------------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+ (a) 5.5 per cent dividend on 50,000 preference shares of £1 each (2006: 5.5 percent; 2005: 5.5 per cent).(b) The payment of the final 2007 dividend declared after 30 June 2007 willreduce the franking account balance by US$388 million. 8 Acquisitions and disposals Significant acquisitions On 1 February 2007 the BHP Billiton Group acquired a 44% interest in theoperation of the Genghis Khan oil and gas development ("Genghis Khan") for atotal cash consideration of US$583 million. Genghis Khan includes Green Canyon Blocks (652 and 608) and was discovered in2005 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Genghis Khan is located in the samegeological structure and allows the Group to benefit from development synergieswith the Shenzi project, which was sanctioned for development in the 2006financial year. In April, the BHP Billiton Group announced the acquisition of a 33.3 per centinterest in Global Alumina's refinery project in Guinea, West Africa for US$140million. The project, comprises the design, construction and operation of a 3.2mtpa alumina refinery, a 9.6 mtpa bauxite mine and associated infrastructure. Disposals During the year ended 30 June 2007, the sales of Southern Cross Fertiliser PtyLtd, the Cascade and Chinook oil and gas prospects, the Coal Bed Methane assetsand BHP Billiton's 45.5 per cent interest in Valesul Aluminio SA have beenfinalised. In addition, during the year, the BHP Billiton Group sold 1 milliontonnes of annual capacity in the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, interests inEyesizwe and Alliance Copper, and the Koornfontein coal operations. 9 Total equity+-----------------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+| |Attributable to members| Minority interests || | of BHP Billiton Group | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+| | 2007| 2006| 2005| 2007| 2006| 2005|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+| | US$M| US$M| US$M| US$$M| US$M| US$M|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Total equity opening balance | 24,218| 17,575| 14,396| 237| 341| 347|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Adjustment for adoption of IAS 39 /| | | | | | ||AASB 139 | | | | | | ||- Retained earnings | -| 55| -| -| -| -|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|- Hedging reserve | -| 30| -| -| -| -|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|- Financial asset reserve | -| 116| -| -| -| -|| | | | | | | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Total equity opening balance after | 24,218| 17,776| 14,396| 237| 341| 347||adoption of IAS 39 / AASB 139 | | | | | | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Total recognised income and expense| 13,596| 10,511| 6,306| 82| 84| 232||for the year | | | | | | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Transactions with owners - | 17| 24| 56| -| -| -||contributed equity | | | | | | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Dividends |(2,269)|(1,938)|(1,409)| (68)| (188)| (238)|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Accrued employee entitlement to | 72| 61| 53| -| -| -||share awards | | | | | | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Purchases of shares made by ESOP | (165)| (187)| (47)| -| -| -||Trusts | | | | | | |+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Cash settlement of share awards | -| -| (3)| -| -| -|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|BHP Billiton Plc share buy-back |(2,957)| (409)| -| -| -| -|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|BHP Billiton Limited share buy-back|(2,845)|(1,620)|(1,777)| -| -| -|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+|Total equity closing balance | 29,667| 24,218| 17,575| 251| 237| 341|+-----------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+------+ On 23 August 2006, BHP Billiton announced a US$3.0 billion capital return toshareholders through an 18 month series of on-market share buy-backs. On 7February 2007, an additional US$10 billion capital return was announced. On thisdate, 93,435,000 shares in BHP Billiton Plc had been repurchased under theAugust program at a cost of US$1,705 million, leaving US$1,295 million to becarried forward and added to February's program. All BHP Billiton Plc sharesbought back are held as Treasury shares within the share capital of BHP BillitonPlc. As at 30 June 2007, 146,721,714 BHP Billiton Plc shares had been boughtback (6,600,000 by BHP Billiton Plc and 140,121,714 by BHP Billiton Limited) ata total cost of US$2,957 million. Shares in BHP Billiton Plc held by BHP Billiton Limited were periodicallycancelled in accordance with the resolutions passed at the 2006 Annual GeneralMeetings. Of the BHP Billiton Plc shares purchased by BHP Billiton Limited,67,285,000 and 34,400,000 shares were cancelled on 18 January 2007 and 23 April2007 respectively. As at 30 June 2007, BHP Billiton Limited held 38,436,714shares in BHP Billiton Plc. Subsequent to the year end, on 5 July 2007, afurther 19,650,000 BHP Billiton Plc shares purchased by BHP Billiton Limitedwere cancelled. On 26 March 2007, the BHP Billiton Group completed an off-market buy-back of141,098,555 million BHP Billiton Limited shares. In accordance with thestructure of the buy-back, US$286 million was allocated to the share capital ofBHP Billiton Limited and US$2,559 million was allocated to retained earnings.These shares were then cancelled. 10 Subsequent events Other than the matters disclosed elsewhere in this financial information, nomatters or circumstances have arisen since the end of the year that havesignificantly affected, or may significantly affect, the operations, results ofoperations or state of affairs of the BHP Billiton Group in subsequentaccounting periods. BHP Billiton Limited BHP Billiton Plc ABN 49 004 028 077 Registration number 3196209 Registered in Australia Registered in England and Wales Registered Office: Registered Office: Level 27, Neathouse Place 180 Lonsdale Street London SW1V 1BH Melbourne United Kingdom Victoria 3000 Telephone +44 20 7802 4000 Telephone +61 1300 554 757 Facsimile +44 20 7802 4111 Facsimile +61 3 9609 3015 The BHP Billiton Group is headquartered in Australia This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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