BHP Group reported a better-than-expected full-year underlying profit on Tuesday, driven by higher copper prices as the red metal overtook iron ore as the mining giant's biggest earnings contributor.
Copper prices have climbed to record highs above $14,000 a tonne this year, supported by the rapid expansion of energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centres and the global transition towards cleaner energy. The rally has intensified competition among major miners to secure high-grade copper assets.
Copper, including byproducts such as gold and uranium, generated $18.19 billion in operating earnings for the year ended June 30, surpassing the $14.53 billion generated by iron ore.
BHP CEO Brandon Craig noted in the release:
"Copper is the engine that is driving BHP's growth.
"Demand for what we mine is building. Copper demand alone is set to grow from about 34 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum) today to more than 50 Mtpa by 2050."
BHP, the world's largest copper producer, reported full-year underlying attributable profit of $13.20 billion, beating Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of $12.66 billion and rising from $10.16 billion a year earlier.
The company declared a final dividend of 99 cents per share, taking its full-year distribution to $1.72 per share, the highest level in four years.
BHP's market capitalisation stands at around A$311.7 billion.
