Australian mining company BHP Billiton has announced its financial results for the financial year 2020-21 ended on June 30.
Accordingly, BHP Billiton has posted a net profit of US$11.30 billion for the financial year 2020-21, up 42 percent compared to a net profit of US$7.95 billion in the previous financial year, while the company’s revenue increased by 41.6 percent year on year to US$60.82 billion.
Meanwhile, BHP Billiton reported EBITDA of $37.38 billion for the year amid higher iron ore prices, record iron ore production volumes, a disciplined cost performance, and lower fuel and energy costs, increasing by 69 percent compared to $22.07 billion in the same period of the previous year, while its EBITDA margin rose to 64 percent in the full year, from 53 percent in the financial year 2019-20.
As for the company’s iron ore production guidance for the 2021-22 financial year, it is expected to be between 249 million mt and 259 million mt.
According to the company’s statement, global crude steel production was unbalanced in 2020, with strong growth in China offset by a steep fall in the rest of the world. In the 2021 calendar year to date, this has corrected to some degree, with utilization rates in the rest of the world back close to normal, even as China continues to produce at very high run-rates. Notwithstanding regulatory uncertainty with respect to periodic output controls, and Covid-19 risks, Chinese steel production is expected to increase by around five percent in 2021. BHP anticipates a continuation of strong end-use demand conditions in China and ongoing recovery in the rest of world over the course of the 2022 financial year.