BHP posts smallest profit in five years on lower iron ore prices

(Reuters) -BHP Group reported its smallest annual underlying profit in five years on Tuesday, as prices of its top money-making commodity, iron ore, remained under pressure due to oversupply concerns and slowing China demand.

Additional supply from Australia, Brazil and South Africa, alongside lower steel production in top consumer China, pressured iron ore prices for much of the financial year, affecting earnings for top miners including BHP and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO).

BHP, the world’s largest listed miner, reported an underlying attributable profit of $10.16 billion for the year ended June 30, missing the Visible Alpha consensus of $10.22 billion. This was the miner’s weakest performance since 2020.

Last year, it reported underlying attributable earnings of $13.66 billion.

BHP announced a final dividend of $0.60 per share, down from $0.74 a year earlier, taking the total annual payout to $1.10 - the miner’s weakest dividend since 2017.