BHP posts second straight year of record iron ore production, beats estimates
FY iron ore output from Western Australia on 100% basis 287 Mt
Qtrly copper production up 6%
Co to report FY results on Aug 27
Adds analyst comment in paragraph 6, share moves in paragraph 13
By Echha Jain
July 17 (Reuters) -BHP Group BHP.AX on Wednesday reported record annual iron ore production for a second consecutive year, helped by improved weather conditions and higher contribution from its South Flank operations in Western Australia.
The world's largest listed miner beat analyst expectations for both its quarterly iron ore and copper production in its production report.
BHP has eked out consistent gains from a project to debottleneck its Western Australian iron ore operations, while also benefiting from higher throughput at its Escondida mine in Chile.
The upbeat performance comes after BHP said last week it was suspending its Western Australia nickel operations from October, citing plunge in the metal's prices and an oversupply in the global market.
For the full year ended June 30, BHP produced 287.0 million metric tons (Mt) of iron ore. It expects to produce between 282 Mt and 294 Mt for fiscal 2025, as it progresses towards its medium-term target beyond 305 Mt.
BHP finished fiscal 2024 with a strong June-quarter production performance, beating Citi's quarterly production expectations across all key divisions, the brokerage said.
BHP's South Flank operations ramped up to full operational capacity of 80 Mt during the quarter.
Iron ore output from Western Australia on a 100% basis was 76.8 Mt in the three months to June 30, beating a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 75.4 Mt compiled by Macquarie.
The global miner had recorded Western Australia iron ore output of 72.7 Mt last year.
Copper production during the quarter increased 6%, compared with the prior year to 504.9 kilo tons (kt), helped by higher concentrator grade and throughput at Escondida, BHP said. That beat a Vuma consensus of 469.2 kt.
In late May, BHP walked away from a $49 billion takeover offer for rival Anglo American AAL.L, a plan which was at the time aimed at securing Anglo's prized copper assets in Latin America and increase BHP's access to copper.
Energy coal output fell partly due to unfavourable weather and maintenance works brought forward while metallurgical coal production fell 18% during the quarter following the divestment of its Blackwater and Daunia mines in Queensland to Whitehaven Coal WHC.AX.
Shares of the miner fell 0.1% to A$43.02 per share at 0051 GMT, in a mixed market for iron ore producers.
BHP will report its full-year results on Aug. 27.
Reporting by Echha Jain and John Biju in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Maju Samuel and Rashmi Aich
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
