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BHP - BHP Group

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Dona Ferentes said:
BHP has posted its lowest half-year profit in eight years after the company slashed the value of its struggling Australian nickel and Brazilian iron ore assets.

The underlying profit, of $US6.6 billion ($10.1 billion) was largely unchanged from one year earlier. Some $US5.7 billion in impairments and charges, however, left statutory profits at $US927 million.

Shareholders will receive a US72¢ interim dividend worth $US3.6 billion, (better than the US69¢ per share expected). But it was lower than last year’s US90¢ interim dividend and represents the lowest half-year payout to shareholders since February 2020
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And I expect the SP to rise on such good news and virtuous management
 
qldfrog said:
And I expect the SP to rise on such good news and virtuous management
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not currently ( down 0.5% )

but i did note it rise at the open following a flurry of 'positive spin ' headlines

( big guys taking some profits , perhaps ? )

the current dip is not deep enough to have me considering a top up target
 
qldfrog said:
And I expect the SP to rise on such good news and virtuous management
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It’s a pretty good result, not to much management can do about the nickel price, but they will get a tax write off for the writedown in the carrying value for the nickel assets, but it doesn’t affect actual cash flows.

management could have easily just not written down the carrying value of the asset and reported a larger profit, headlines would have been better, but shareholders would have be worse off by not taking the opportunity to write of a loss against the taxes.
 
being a glass half full person ...

BHP and the South Australian government are close to finalising talks over a multibillion-dollar desalination plant for the Upper Spencer Gulf as the miner grows more confident in its ability to deliver a 55 per cent production boost at its nearby copper mines.

Water has long been a handbrake on mining growth in the region, with Olympic Dam’s extraction of groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin straining relations with some Indigenous groups, who place great significance on bubbling springs in the region.

Construction of a desalination plant near Port Augusta is expected to partially solve BHP’s water challenges, and the miner is expected to be announced in coming days as an anchor customer for the Northern Water facility proposed by the SA government.
 
Dona Ferentes said:
being a glass half full person ...

BHP and the South Australian government are close to finalising talks over a multibillion-dollar desalination plant for the Upper Spencer Gulf as the miner grows more confident in its ability to deliver a 55 per cent production boost at its nearby copper mines.

Water has long been a handbrake on mining growth in the region, with Olympic Dam’s extraction of groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin straining relations with some Indigenous groups, who place great significance on bubbling springs in the region.

Construction of a desalination plant near Port Augusta is expected to partially solve BHP’s water challenges, and the miner is expected to be announced in coming days as an anchor customer for the Northern Water facility proposed by the SA government.
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I must say I'm in favour of BHP over the Indigenous groups.

We need to get away from this Sacralisation of Bubbling Springs mindset and concentrate on the greater good.

gg
 
divs4ever said:

5 key takeaways from BHP's half-year result​


www.livewiremarkets.com

5 key takeaways from BHP's half-year result

There's more than meets the eye to BHP's first-half profit plunge.
www.livewiremarkets.com www.livewiremarkets.com

i hold BHP
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Thanks @divs4ever for that link. It encapsulates all risks and opportunities for BHP going forward.

On those 5 points, I'd be hoping for a price retreat to top up on BHP.

Once the last concern, Samarco, becomes a finite cost, all the 5 points will appear in context. Good times ahead for BHP medium to long term, some pain short to medium term.

gg
 
Garpal Gumnut said:
I must say I'm in favour of BHP over the Indigenous groups.

We need to get away from this Sacralisation of Bubbling Springs mindset and concentrate on the greater good.

gg
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I was looking at the Great Artesian Basin

Screenshot_20240220-194855_Google.jpg
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some 55 per cent of all surface water emerges at Dalhousie Springs in the Witjira NP, far NE SA. With more than 60 springs, there are two major pools, some 400m apart and from different strata; one is 36°C and the other is 22°C, They don't bubble.
 
It’s a reminder too that even the biggest players are just as vulnerable to the commodity price cycle. It’s a matter of how long they can endure the pain and respond to it. ​
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The good news for Henry is nickel has long been the smallest part of BHP’s mega-mine portfolio. Prices at his flagship commodity iron ore business are holding above $US100 a tonne despite the uncertain outlook for the Chinese economy and copper production is rising as prices too have started this year on a brighter note.​


BHP’s CEO triages nickel: Now come the hard choices

Even with nickel’s reputation for volatility, the speed of the price collapse took those inside BHP by surprise.

And now chief executive Mike Henry sees himself in a position of being forced to triage to stem the bleeding. It’s after that the harder choices around the future of nickel will be made.

It’s an unusual position for BHP, which prides itself on market intelligence and runs planning horizons that span decades.

It’s a reminder too that even the biggest players are just as vulnerable to the commodity price cycle. It’s a matter of how long they can endure the pain and respond to it. Other producers, including Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo, have already shut their operations after prices fell nearly 50 per cent last year.

The good news for Henry is nickel has long been the smallest part of BHP’s mega-mine portfolio. Prices at his flagship commodity iron ore business are holding above $US100 a tonne despite the uncertain outlook for the Chinese economy and copper production is rising as prices too have started this year on a brighter note.

These provides BHP with billions in spare cashflow needed to cover this month’s telegraphed $US2.5bn ($3.8bn) in writedowns across nickel as well as a multibillion-dollar top up provision for a likely Samarco dam disaster payout.

Still, Henry knows he has to move quickly to deal with the immediate and very real nickel problem.

Last week he outlined plans to mothball the Kambalda concentrator and now he is assessing the implications of putting BHP’s entire Nickel West mining operations under care and maintenance – a move that would collectively cost thousands of jobs. This is the most likely course of action, but an outcome should be known in coming months.

Nickel, however, was the source of BHP’s financial pain that almost pushed the miner uncomfortably close to a headline loss for the December half. Underlying that, BHP hit market expectations – only just – of a $US6.6bn profit, flat on this time last year. Net debt is starting to drift up to the top end of its own targets while the downshift in the commodity cycle from the pandemic boomtime backed a 20 per cent drop in interim dividends to US72c.

It is when the losses on nickel stop through mothballing the assets, the notoriously methodical Henry will be then able to confront nickel’s longer-term future inside BHP.

To weigh this up he needs to consider if Indonesia’s aggressive ramp-up of cheap nickel production is sustainable and represents a permanent shift in global supply dynamics. There is also the risk of future disruption, as lower grade nickel now being used to prop up higher grade supply that is needed for batteries.

Then there is the question of whether the long-term demand story for nickel remains intact. This hinges on whether EV growth will continue despite recent slowdown and indeed whether batteries of the future will rely on expensive metals like cobalt and nickel.

While Henry won’t be drawn on an eventual exit by BHP from nickel, on the current settings it looks increasingly tough for the metal to compete for capital alongside other high-margin, low-cost glamour operations in BHP.

Propping up nickel is likely to be less of a priority for BHP that is about to enter a period of significant investment, including spending $US10bn to build out its greenfields Canadian potash business and expanding copper production.

In a round of briefings Henry on Tuesday said the nickel market was going to be long on supply “possibly through to the end of this decade”. Beyond that point as demand starts picking up, the outlook for the metal looks more positive. But it “will take time for supply and demand to recalibrate”.

Make no mistake, the nickel crisis is a supply story. But as much as BHP can respond, Henry is resolute the situation has a read through for all commodities. This means there needs to be a supply side response from Canberra and state governments – not bailouts.

“The single biggest thing that government needs to do is to ensure that the policy settings in Australia enable high levels of competitiveness globally,” he says.

“The opportunity ahead for the nation isn’t just nickel, it’s in critical minerals more broadly via lithium and copper and ongoing in iron ore in a world where competition is really going to heat up in the years ahead. And the nation needs to be spawning new and exciting export industries.

“That only happens if the underlying fiscal and regulatory settings enable the driving of high levels of productivity. The reality is that today we’re seeing costs go up without a commensurate increase in productivity. That isn’t a long-run winning model”.
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An insider's guide to BHP's future growth plans: Potash in, Nickel out​


www.livewiremarkets.com

An insider's guide to BHP's future growth plans: Potash in, Nickel out

In this interview, Livewire speaks with BHP Group CFO David Lamont for an inside look at the Big Australian's latest half-year result.
www.livewiremarkets.com www.livewiremarkets.com

yes but i have been hearing ' copper and potash for seemingly ever

at least they bought a working mine this time when buying OZL
 
qldfrog said:
As a former insider, if you want financial success, do the opposite of what BHP management does..
Do not invest in bhp is my motto..but as all shares: feel free to trade them
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BHP has really good assets. If they could stop doing dumb **** all the time it would be an amazing company to invest in. I do not know why but BHP seems to be cursed with perpetually incompetent management.

Anybody here know the reason why BHP has been managed by muppets for over 30 years? Its a bit like AMP nobody can remember the last time they had management that were not complete muppets.
 
Garpal Gumnut said:
I must disagree with some here on ASF re BHP. It has been good to me. I haven't always held it, but when I have it has been good.
Like many mining stocks it is cyclical.
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and dependent on commodity prices.

BHP wins and losses are accentuated by sheer size. Three great wins
- Bass Strait with Esso
- Pilbara iron ore
- Escondido copper
outweigh the poor decisions, from which they exit / extricate.... eventually

Founded 1886, they're doing something right.
First bought in 1984, love the dividends.

EDIT ... thought I read right
Such as the 31 per cent jump in net operating income to $US8.9 billion ($13.6 billion), which helped BHP retain its title as the world's largest dividend payer.1 day ago
https://www.afr.com › chanticleer

Forget nickel, BHP's next​

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Garpal Gumnut said:
I must disagree with some here on ASF re BHP. It has been good to me. I haven't always held it, but when I have it has been good.

Like many mining stocks it is cyclical.

gg
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good ( to me ) , yes it has ,

but i bought my way down before/during the dam disaster , held on for the S32 dividend ( and some of the WDS one )

but in all seriousness it has stumbled and wobbled all over the place

one might suspect it has lost it's long range vision which is essential for huge mining projects , maybe they should go back and practice with some smaller projects ( they bought interests in several when they took over OZL so all they have to do is inject capital in the promising ones
 
Value Hunter said:
BHP has really good assets. If they could stop doing dumb **** all the time it would be an amazing company to invest in. I do not know why but BHP seems to be cursed with perpetually incompetent management.

Anybody here know the reason why BHP has been managed by muppets for over 30 years? Its a bit like AMP nobody can remember the last time they had management that were not complete muppets.
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Kloppers was a bit to ambitious for growth, but I think McKenzie and the current guy have been doing good.

saying that if you held it for the past 30 years you have done very well, something like 20% compounded growth including dividends.
 
Value Collector said:
Kloppers was a bit to ambitious for growth, but I think McKenzie and the current guy have been doing good.

saying that if you held it for the past 30 years you have done very well, something like 20% compounded growth including dividends.
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it hasn't been a train-wreck since i bought in ( but then i 'averaged down ' )

the first parcel bought @ $41.60 in July 2011 , so 'buying big , and holding tight ' would have been a mediocre strategy over the last 12 years ( not forgetting the bonus S32 and WDS )

but luckily i remained cautious and flexible in my strategies
 
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