MELBOURNE: Global miner BHP posted a 33 percent jump in annual underlying profit and a record final dividend on Tuesday, but flagged a delay in future savings as well as cost pressures at some of its operations.
The world’s biggest miner, which has been focusing on simplifying its business and driving returns to shareholders, said it expected its strong momentum to continue into the medium term.
However, BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said the miner was “a little more apprehensive” on the short-term outlook, given trade ructions between China and the United States, and analysts flagged concerns over rising costs.
For the year ended June 30, underlying profit, which excludes one-time gains and losses, rose to $8.93 billion from $6.73 billion, just below an estimate of $9.27 billion according to 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
BHP paid out a record final dividend of $0.63 a share, up from $0.43 a year ago, on the back of free cashflow of $12.5 billion from a strong operating performance and higher commodity prices. “A pretty solid result really. I think largely in line with what the market expected,” said portfolio manager Andy Forster of Argo Investments in Melbourne. “Definitely the cash flow was strong, the dividend probably a bit stronger than what we expected.”
However, a cut in productivity gains expected in fiscal 2019 — to $1 billion from a previously promised $2 billion — “slightly took the gloss off the results,” he added, although the miner pledged to make the additional savings in 2020.
BHP also noted some cost creep due to geotechnical issues at its Queensland coal operations, rising fuel costs, and pockets of inflation in labor.
“The dividend was better than expected, but the slight fiscal 2018 (earnings) miss and fiscal 2019 cost guidance is likely to cause us to take down estimates modestly,” broker Clarkson Platou said in a report
Shares in BHP fell 1.8 percent in afternoon trading, compared with a 1 percent fall in the broader Australian market and a 0.8 percent dip in rival Rio Tinto.
Including one-time charges, BHP’s profit fell 37 percent to $3.71 billion.
These included a $2.8 billion post-tax charge from the sale of BHP’s US shale oil and gas assets in July which ended a disastrous seven-year foray into shale.
BHP said that it would not make a decision on how to return profits from the sale to investors until it was finalized.
The company also took a $650 million charge for the 2015 Samarco dam failure in Brazil that killed 19 people.
Total revenue rose 20 percent to $45.81 billion. Revenue from iron ore mining, BHP’s biggest division, edged up 1.3 percent, while copper surged by nearly 60 percent backed by higher production from its Escondida mine in Chile.
Revenue from its petroleum division grew 14.5 percent on surging oil prices.
BHP said it cut net debt to $10.9 billion, at the lower end of its $10-15 billion target.
Profit at world’s biggest miner BHP jump, but warns on costs, savings
Profit at world’s biggest miner BHP jump, but warns on costs, savings
- The world’s biggest miner said it expected its strong momentum to continue into the medium term
- BHP paid out a record final dividend of $0.63 a share, up from $0.43 a year ago, on the back of free cashflow of $12.5 billion
Aramco’s 13% rally helps Saudi stocks post second weekly gain
RIYADH: Saudi Aramco extended its year-to-date rally to nearly 13 percent on Thursday, helping the Kingdom’s benchmark stock index secure a second straight weekly gain despite a weaker final trading session.
Saudi Aramco shares, which carry the heaviest weighting on the Saudi Exchange, closed at SR26.86 ($7.16), leaving the stock 12.72 percent higher since the start of 2026. The stock also remained 3.09 percent above last week’s close, even after falling 1.1 percent in Thursday’s session.
The rise in energy shares came as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, after attacks on tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns over supply disruptions.
The Tadawul All Share Index maintained its weekly uptrend, rising nearly 1.07 percent week on week to close at 10,778.32, despite falling 0.45 percent in Thursday’s session. Compared with the first trading day of the year, the index has gained 4.01 percent.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR5.05 billion at Thursday’s close, with 88 stocks advancing and 176 declining.
Aramco’s performance continued to anchor sentiment after the company reported adjusted net income of $104.7 billion for 2025 earlier this week, while net profit fell 12.1 percent year on year to $93.39 billion, compared with $106.25 billion in 2024, as lower crude prices weighed on earnings despite higher sales volumes across oil, gas and refined products.
On a March 10 earnings call, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could have severe implications for global energy markets. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway each day, but shipments have been largely blocked.
“There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets and the longer the disruption goes on ... the more drastic the consequences for the global economy,” he said.
“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.”
Saudi equities showed mixed performance in Thursday’s session. The MSCI Tadawul Index fell 5.99 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,476.76.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 132.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 22,370.4, with 38 stocks advancing and 34 declining.
On March 11, the International Energy Agency announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history. As part of that, the US said it would release 172 million barrels starting next week.
