PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major BHP has reported a 2% increase in underlying attributable profit for the full year ended June, which reached $9.12-billion, paying a record final dividend of 78c a share.

Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation and amortisation (Ebitda) remained consistent, compared with the previous financial year, at $23.1-billion.

“We announced a strong set of results, built on our foundation of simplification, capital discipline and culture. This underpinned record returns for shareholders and a return on capital employed of 18%,” CEO Andrew Mackenzie said during a briefing on Tuesday.

He noted that the financial results for 2019 were a product of BHP’s strategy, which over the past five years had seen the major increase volumes by 10% and reduce unit costs by over 20%.

“Over the 2019 financial year, underlying improvements in our operational performance were offset by the impacts of weather, resource headwinds, and unplanned outages in the first half of the year.

“Higher prices and record production from several of our operations contributed to strong operating cash flows. We used that cash to invest in attractive growth projects, advance our exploration programmes and increase returns to shareholders. We now have six major projects under development in petroleum, copper, iron-ore and potash, following the approval of the Ruby oil and gas development this month.

“All of them are on schedule and budget,” Mackenzie said.

The growth projects include the $3-billion South Flank iron-ore operation, which is scheduled to start production in the 2021 calendar year, and the $2.4-billion Spence copper project, which is targeted for production in the first half of the 2021 financial year.

The miner is also developing three petroleum projects, including the $2.1-billion Mad Dog Phase 2 and $696-million Atlantis Phase 3 projects, both in the Gulf of Mexico.

BHP is expecting iron-ore and copper production to increase in the 2020 financial year, driven by operational performances at its Western Australian iron-ore operations at the Escondida project, in Chile.

Iron-ore production is forecast to increase from the 238-million tonnes reached in the 2019 financial year to between 242-million and 253-million tonnes, while copper production will increase from 1.68-million tonnes to between 1.7-million and 1.82-million tonnes.

Petroleum production for 2020 is forecast to decline from the 121-million barrels of oil equivalent achieved in the 2019 financial year to between 110-million and 116-million barrels of oil equivalent, while metallurgical coal production will decline from 42-million tonnes to between 41-million and 45-million tonnes.

Energy coal production is also forecast to decline from 27-million tonnes in 2019 to between 24-million and 26-million tonnes, while nickel production will remain broadly unchanged from 87 000 t.