BHP Billiton posts $7.8 billion loss, slashes dividend

Tuesday, 23 Feb 2016 05:30:01 | Michael Janda

BHP Billiton has surprised investors by slashing its dividend from 62 to 16 US cents. (Tim Wimborne: Reuters)

BHP Billiton has posted a half-year loss of $US5.7 billion ($7.84 billion) with the interim dividend slashed from 62 to 16 US cents (22 cents) per share.

The company's sliding first-half result came from a 37 per cent drop in revenue to $US15.7 billion and also from previously flagged asset value write-downs, such as a $7 billion post-tax write-down on its US shale oil and gas fields.

Excluding one-off costs and gains, the mining giant's underlying profit was $US412 million ($570 million).

BHP Billiton has said it now believes "the period of weaker commodity prices and higher volatility will be prolonged."

The company explained this has resulted in the abandonment of its "progressive" dividend policy, where it had promised to maintain or increase shareholder payouts year after year.

Instead, the world's biggest miner has slashed its interim dividend by around three-quarters to 16 US cents (22 cents).

In addition, the company has adopted a new policy that will see it pay out a minimum of 50 per cent of underlying profits in dividends, with the possibility of additional amounts depending on circumstances at the time.

The minimum in this half-year would have been 4 US cents, but the board elected to top up the dividend by 12 US cents to 16, as that was still covered by free cash flow.

More to come.

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BHP Billiton posts $7.8 billion loss, slashes dividend

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