BHP Ready For The Upturn |
| Forbes - Aug 12, 2009 |
The past twelve months were never going to be pleasant for miners, with spot prices for metals falling by up to 90%, and commodity-gobbler China witnessing faltering economic growth this year, but all in all, BHP Billiton seems to have coped as well as it could have under the circumstances.
Profits at the Anglo Australian firm fell during the year ending in June by 61%, but the fall was smaller than had been expected and there were a number of other positive signs. Topping the list for analysts was operating cash flow, the amount of cash generated from a companies' operations, and a closely-watched measure of profitability. While the drop in commodity prices eroded cash flows at many mining companies - Switzerland's Xstrata, for example, saw its first half-year figure slide 73% - at BHP Billiton, operating cash flow rose by 5.6% to $18.9 billion, suggesting that the firm's cost cutting strategy was having the desired effect. The company's pre-tax, pre-interest profit margin came in at 40.6%, a decline from the year before but still well above the rest of the industry. .
Read Full Article from Forbes
- Posted: 2009-08-12 09:40:35
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