BHP Annual Profit Rises On Record-High Copper Prices

By Rhiannon Hoyle

BHP Group reported a 9% increase in annual net profit and an even bigger gain in underlying earnings as prices of copper, now its main profit engine, surged to all-time highs.

Australia-based BHP, the world's biggest miner by market value, on Tuesday reported a net profit of $9.83 billion for the 12 months through June, up from $9.02 billion the year prior. A previously announced $2.3 billion write-down of a potash project in Canada weighed on its bottom line.

BHP said it made an underlying profit of $13.20 billion, up 30% on a year earlier. Analysts expected an underlying profit around $12.66 billion, according to a consensus estimate collated by Visible Alpha.

Prices of copper have jumped to a record high amid tightening global supplies. BHP fetched 35% more for the copper it sells versus the year prior. BHP's earnings were also bolstered by higher prices of the iron ore and steelmaking coal it mines.

Directors declared a final dividend of 99 cents a share, taking the miner's annual payout to $1.72 a share--its highest in four years. The market expected a full-year dividend of roughly $1.54 a share, according to Visible Alpha.

BHP has been reshaping its business to bet on a continued shift to lower-carbon energy sources and global population growth via investments in copper and potash--reducing its reliance on steel ingredient iron ore, which had long been the company's main source of profits.

Copper for the first time contributed the largest share of its annual earnings, accounting for 54% of the group's underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda.

"Copper is the engine that is driving BHP's growth," said Chief Executive Brandon Craig. "For the first time, copper contributed more than half our underlying Ebitda and generated significant free cash flow, which means our copper growth is self-funding."

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2026 19:26 ET (23:26 GMT)