BHP has posted an underlying attributable profit of $13.66bn for FY24, a 2% increase from $13.42bn in FY23.
This rise was supported by favourable commodity prices for key materials.
Revenue for BHP increased by 3% to reach $55.7bn in FY24, up from $53.81bn in the preceding year.
The miner attributed this growth to higher realised prices and sales volumes in iron ore and copper.
This outweighed the impact from the reduction in steelmaking coal volumes after the sale of Blackwater and Daunia mines in Queensland, Australia, as well as the reduction in energy coal and nickel prices.
Proceeds from the sale of Blackwater and Daunia were used to pay down BHP’s net debt, which stood at $9.12bn as of 30 June 2024, down 18% from a year ago.
The company also announced record production volumes at its Western Australia Iron Ore operations and a 9% increase in global copper volumes for the second consecutive year.
BHP’s underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 17%, driven primarily by higher realised copper prices, which had a positive impact of $900m, and increased sales volumes due to higher concentrator feed grade, despite a slight offset by lower cathode production.
BHP declared a final dividend of $0.74 per share, culminating in a total annual dividend of $1.46 per share for its shareholders.
BHP CEO Mike Henry said: “Across our global copper assets, we grew overall copper volumes by 9% for the second consecutive year and expect to deliver a further 4% in FY25.
“As a result of this strong performance, combined with our healthy balance sheet, we determined a final dividend of $0.74 per share, a 53% payout ratio, continuing our track record of delivering robust shareholder returns through the cycle.
“The longer-term fundamentals that drive demand for our products remain compelling. In the near term, we expect volatility in global commodity markets, with China experiencing an uneven recovery among its end-use sectors.”
Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that BHP Group was weighing the sale of its copper and gold mines in Brazil.
