BHP Annual Profit Falls, Seeks Exit of Thermal Coal Assets
18 August 2020 - 8:54AM
Dow Jones News
By David Winning
SYDNEY--BHP Group Ltd. reported a 4% drop in annual net profit,
and said it wanted to stop mining thermal coal and would seek
buyers for some older oil and gas assets.
BHP, the world's largest listed miner by market value, reported
a net profit of US$7.96 billion for the 12 months through June,
down from US$8.31 billion a year earlier. The result was dragged
down by U$1.1 billion in one-off charges, including costs tied to
its pandemic response.
The company said its annual underlying profit fell by 1% to
US$9.06 billion, missing the US$9.33 billion median forecast of
eleven analysts compiled by FactSet.
Directors declared a final dividend of 55 U.S. cents a share.
That brought the full-year ordinary dividends to US$1.20 a share,
down 10% on 12 months earlier.
Chief Executive Mike Henry said most major economies will likely
suffer deep recessions this year, with the exception of China.
"Recovery will vary considerably by country," he said. "Our
diversified portfolio and high-quality assets position us to
continue to generate returns in the face of near-term
uncertainty."
Net debt rose to US$12.04 billion at the end of June to be at
the bottom end of the company's stated US$12 billion-US$17 billion
target range.
Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 17, 2020 18:39 ET (22:39 GMT)
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