BHP profit tops estimates as copper powers growth, to pay highest dividend in 4 years

MELBOURNE – BHP Group reported better-than-expected full-year earnings and declared its highest annual dividend in four years, boosted by record copper prices that cemented the metal’s lead over iron ore as the miner’s biggest earnings driver.

Chief executive Brandon Craig, who took the top job at the world’s biggest listed mining company in July, underlined BHP’s project pipeline that could boost its copper production by as much as 40 per cent by 2035, even as production falls in the short term.

“Copper, iron, steelmaking coal and potash are foundational to the way the world is developing. That is why we are moving as fast as we can and bringing these commodities to market,” he told reporters.

BHP on Aug 18 reported a 30 per cent rise in full-year underlying attributable profit of US$13.20 billion (S$16.9 billion) for the year ended June 30, above the Visible Alpha consensus of US$12.66 billion.

It announced a final dividend of 99 US cents per share, bringing the full-year distribution to US$1.72 apiece, the highest in four years, the miner said. BHP shares rallied as much as 4.2 per cent to a two-month high of A$64.79.

“Loved the dividend, a big beat on that,” said portfolio manager Andy Forster of Argo Investments in Sydney, which holds BHP shares.

“Solid overall, and copper doing all the work,” he said of the results, adding that BHP was emphasising longer-term growth, even though final investment decisions had not yet been made and capital spending was expected to rise by more than US$1 billion in 2027.

Copper prices have climbed to record highs above US$14,000 per tonne in 2026, triggered by the rapid pace of energy-hungry artificial intelligence data centre build-outs and the global shift towards cleaner power, intensifying miners’ race to secure high-grade copper assets.

Craig said BHP always watched for market opportunities, but it was roughly five times more expensive to buy copper assets than build.

The red metal, including byproducts such as gold and uranium, generated US$18.19 billion in operating earnings in the year, surpassing iron ore’s US$14.53 billion as BHP’s top earnings driver.

BHP expects copper demand to grow to more than 50 million tonnes per year by 2050 from 34 million tonnes in 2026.

Iron ore operating earnings rise

BHP’s iron ore business in Western Australia is facing challenges from industrial action, but Craig said the miner did not expect any negative effect from the first major strikes at Port Hedland in decades as talks continue on Aug 18.

As for its biggest customer, China’s state iron ore buyer, BHP is focused on efficient markets, rather than forming a combined selling desk with other miners, Craig said.

BHP’s flagship Western Australia Iron Ore operations generated US$14.67 billion in operating earnings in the year, up 2 per cent from 2025 and in line with the Visible Alpha consensus of US$14.75 billion.

The miner said it had US$3.5 billion remaining that it could unlock through active capital portfolio and asset management as part of a US$10 billion opportunity it had identified.

Most recently, Global Infrastructure Partners invested US$2 billion for a minority stake in the business’ inland power network.

The miner’s net debt at the end of the 2026 financial year fell to US$8.69 billion, below both the target range of US$10 billion to US$12 billion and the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of US$9.10 billion.

Metallurgical coal sale speculation doused

Craig doused some reports that BHP could review its Queensland metallurgical coal operations for a possible sale over the next one to five years. He said the assets would be an important part of BHP’s portfolio if markets developed as the miner expected.

Reuters reported on Aug 17 that Canadian uranium miner NexGen Energy was sharing information and “talking regularly” with BHP about its Rook I uranium project in Saskatchewan.

In response, Craig said BHP would “continue to study” other commodity options but would not speculate further. REUTERS