Miner BHP Billiton may have made the profit jump of 33%, it failed to make a fair pay to its chief. CEO Andrew Mackenzie has got just a little extra US$103,000 which makes his fiscal 2018 remuneration to US$4.66 million. This represents an amount lower than his maximum potential package which is assumed to be US$13 million per year.
Since his appointment as CEO in 2013, Mr Mackenzie has not received any base salary increase and it does not seem to be coming anytime soon as the company has confirmed to keep his salary unchanged at $1.7 million per annum along with other components of his total remuneration like pension contributions and other benefits.
However, BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) has announced the highest ever final dividend of 63 US cents per share on the back of solid operating performance in FY18. Today morning the company released its annual reports for the year ended 30 June 2018 posting the best underlying profit since 2013-14 with hefty 33% jump in underlying attributable profit to US$8.9 billion.
Driven by higher prices, increased volumes and one-off benefits, company’s underlying EBITDA has gone up to $23.2 billion from $19.4 billion in FY17. Basic earnings per share was 69.6 cents. Though increase in copper production was highest during the year, Iron ore has made the most out of group’s underlying earnings as it contributed $8.9 billion, 39% of group’s underlying EBITDA. Following which copper contributed 28% or $6.5 billion, Coal 19% or $4.4 billion and Petroleum 14% or $3.3 billion.
With the view to strengthen the group’s portfolio, BHP Billiton has undertaken a sale of its Onshore US assets in FY18 for US$10.8 billion. The sale of these assets is anticipated to be completed by the end of October this year. Also, earlier this year, BHP’s Board approved US$2.9 billion in capital expenditure for the South Flank iron ore project in Western Australia, thereby enhancing the average quality grade of BHP’s Western Australia Iron Ore production.
For the second consecutive year, the company has generated over US$12 billion of free cash flow, thereby giving flexibility to company’s debt reduction, future investments and cash returns to shareholders. At year end, the company has brought down its net debt to US$10.9 billion.
Headquartered in Melbourne, BHP Billiton has declared total dividend of 118 US cents including highest ever final dividend of 63 US cents payable on 25 September 2018.
Company’s annual general meeting is due to be held on 8 November 2018 at Adelaide, South Australia.
Despite posting tremendous improvements in profit of the company, BHP Billiton’s stock continues to move down on ASX as share price has fallen by 0.411% to $31.480 today, 17 September 2018 (4:45 PM AEST). The stock has seen a performance change of +20.28% over the past 12 months while it is trading at PE of 33.570 x with market capitalization of $101.52 billion.
The Income available from dividends remains attractive for many investors.
We take a look at the best yields on the market and assess what they say about a company’s prospect.
One Thing is certain, though, Australia interest rates are still low, making income difficult to come by and keeping the focus for many investors on high yielding stocks. Kalkine’s team of analysts bought you handpicked report for “Top 25 Dividend Stocks For 2018.”
ASX-relevant Special Reports are published year-round to provide a detailed analysis into an investing opportunity or a potential risk to your portfolio.
Click here to get your free report.
Disclaimer
The advice given by Kalkine Pty Ltd and provided on this website is general information only and it does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider whether the advice is appropriate to your investment objectives, financial situation and needs before acting upon it. You should seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice) as necessary before acting on any advice. Not all investments are appropriate for all people. Kalkinemedia.com and associated websites are published by Kalkine Pty Ltd ABN 34 154 808 312 (Australian Financial Services License Number 425376). website), employees and/or associates of Kalkine Pty Ltd do not hold positions in any of the stocks covered on the website. These stocks can change any time and readers of the reports should not consider these stocks as advice or recommendations.
Checkout our Free Dividend Stocks Report
Specially made for income-hungry investors, Invest in growing Franked Dividends an opportunity that should not be missed.
6 Cannabis Stocks under Investor’s Limelight…
Cannabis companies that sell both medicinal weed and recreational pot. Marijuana stocks to look at. Marijuana mergers and acquisitions. Dispensary data analytics. Upcoming marijuana IPO’s Those phrases have become increasingly common as marijuana legalization spreads.
Global spending on legal cannabis is expected to grow 230% to $32 billion in 2020 as compared to $9.5 in 2017, according to Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics. As of June 29, 2018 the United States Marijuana Index, despite a lot of uncertainty around regulations, has over the past 1 year gained 71.49%, as compared to about 12% gain seen by the S&P 500.
Click here for your FREE Report
