logo-loader

BHP Billiton's iron ore output up, but copper and US petroleum production weaker

Published: 07:41 19 Jul 2017 BST

Mining truck
Analysts were expecting fourth quarter output of around 69mln tonnes. BHP Billiton set a fiscal 2018 production target of 275-280mln tonnes

BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT) said it is on target to meet its full-year guidance after reporting an 8% rise in its fourth quarter iron ore output, and has increased its target for the current year.

In its latest production update, the FTSE 100-listed group said its Australian mines produced 70mln tonnes of iron ore in the final quarter of fiscal 2017, sending annual output to 268mln tonnes against guidance of 268mln-272mln tonnes.

READ: BHP Billiton names packaging boss Ken MacKenzie to tricky job as new chairman

Analysts were expecting fourth quarter output of around 69mln tonnes. BHP Billiton set a fiscal 2018 production target of 275-280mln tonnes.

The company also reported a 13% fall in full-year petroleum production to 208mln barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) with production in 2018 forecast to decline by between 180 and 190 MMboe.

Output from the company's onshore fields in the US is set to drop to by between 61 and 67 MMboe in fiscal 2018, BHP added.

The global miner is facing pressure from activist shareholders led by Elliott Management to dispose of its US petroleum business, and has already set in motion plans to sell some assets there.

Copper output just short of guidance

Elsewhere, BHP’s annual copper output of 1.326mln tonnes fell just short of guidance, hit by a strike at the giant Escondida mine in Chile, but it should recover to 1.655-1.790mln tonnes in fiscal 2018, the company said.

In metallurgical coal, fourth-quarter output dropped by 27% affected by a cyclone that swept across Australian collieries in the period.

BHP Billiton said it expects to take a second-half exceptional charge of US$546mln, rising to US$740mln post-tax because of taxes and strike-related costs in Chile.

Caledonia Mining tackles 2023 challenges with optimism for 2024 as it...

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL) chief executive Mark Learmonth tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion the company faced a challenging 2023, primarily due to poor production in the first half of the year at its core asset, the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, and an underperformance...

1 hour, 15 minutes ago