BHP Billiton’s copper-led future
The more that our two giant resources groups, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, operate by the same score sheet, the more different are the futures they are creating for themselves.
On the surface the BHPB result yesterday was a mirror image of the Rio result last week.
Both were centred on the still-fabulous profits from iron ore. BHPB got more than half its group underlying gross (EBIT) profit from iron ore in the half year — $US6.5 billion ($7.2 billion) of the $US12.4 billion group total.
Rio, which was reporting for a full year, generated an extraordinary $US17.4 billion of grosser (EBITDA) profit from iron ore. This was more than 80 per cent of its total group profit.
They got to their improved group profit destinations by the same mix of tough operational strategies imposed by their relatively new CEOs — Sam Walsh at Rio, Andrew Mackenzie at BHPB.
Read more at: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/bhp-billitons-copperled-future/story-fni0d8gi-1226830940533
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