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BHP to distribute record dividend in FY'19; profit surges 124% on tax reversals

BHP Group said Aug. 20 that it will distribute a fully franked final dividend of 78 cents per share in the second half, in line with expectations, for a record total dividend of US$2.35 per share for fiscal 2019.

The payout reflected a 73% payout ratio, compared to a 69% payout ratio in the prior year. For fiscal 2019, the mining giant paid out US$17.1 billion back to its shareholders.

Attributable net profit for fiscal 2019 jumped 124% to US$8.31 billion, or US$1.60 per share, from US$3.71 billion, or 69.6 cents per share. The increase was attributed in part to the reversal of the provisions of global taxation matters that were resolved over the year.

During the year, BHP recognized a US$818 million exceptional loss, related to the 2015 dam failure at the Samarco iron ore joint venture with Vale SA. The miner previously flagged it will contribute US$260 million as part of plans to accelerate the decommissioning of upstream tailings dams at Samarco.

For the year, the miner booked an income tax expense of US$5.53 billion, down from US$7.01 billion in the prior year.

Underlying net profit for the period ended June 30, meanwhile, grew 2% to US$9.12 billion, or US$1.76 per basic share.

The mining giant's total revenue for the period totaled US$45.14 billion and underlying EBITDA was US$23.16 billion, both in line with year-ago figures.

Net debt was cut to US$9.22 billion, reflecting a 16% change, on the back of free cash flow ballooning to US$20.48 billion from US$12.54 billion.

Capital expenditure over the fiscal year totaled US$7.57 billion, representing a 12% increase and below its guidance of US$8 billion. The miner expects its fiscal 2020 capex to stay below US$8 billion.

Meanwhile, BHP forecasts fiscal 2020 group copper equivalent production to be slightly higher against its fiscal 2019 output, which slipped 2%.

Full-year iron ore production totaled about 237.96 million tonnes, broadly in line with its record output of 238.42 Mt in its fiscal 2018, while copper production slipped 4% to 1.69 Mt.