Company is the worlds largest diversified resources group. It has seven divisions: Petroleum, Aluminium, Base Metals, Carbon Steel materials, Diamonds and speciality products, Energy coal and Stainless steel materials.

            Red = 25 day moving average.           Green = 200 day moving average.

SALES PER ACTIVITY (Data as of 30/06/2006)

Carbon steel:   28%
Oil:                18%
Aluminum:       15%
Basic metals:   15%
Coal:               9%
Stainless steel: 9%
:                    3%
Diamonds,
minerals, etc:   3%

That's the 200DMA banjaxed, if it doesn't bounce from here 1800ish would be a tempting entry point.

That's the 200DMA banjaxed, if it doesn't bounce from here 1800ish would be a tempting entry point.

i trade this rather than hold long term, and so far it has always treated me well - more than can said for some other little gems

StockMarketWire.com
BHP Billiton reports a strong operating performance with a 9% increase in group production and annual records achieved across 12 operations and four commodities.

Western Australia Iron Ore achieved a 14th consecutive annual production record as volumes increased to 225 Mt (100% basis), significantly exceeding initial full-year guidance. We now expect production of 245 Mt (100% basis) from the Pilbara in the 2015 financial year.

· Metallurgical coal production of 45 Mt exceeded full-year guidance as Queensland Coal achieved record production and sales volumes.

· Copper production increased to 1.7 Mt as an improvement in mill throughput and concentrator utilisation offset grade decline at a number of operations.

· Petroleum production increased by 4% to a record 246 MMboe with an 18% increase in liquids volumes underpinned by significant growth at Onshore US and Atlantis.

· Six major projects were completed and another two projects achieved first production, including the Caval Ridge coal mine which was completed ahead of schedule and under budget in the June 2014 quarter.

Chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said: "Our focus on productivity has resulted in a significant improvement in operating performance at each of our major businesses this year, with a nine per cent(1) increase in Group production and record output at 12 operations. Western Australia Iron Ore and Queensland Coal annual production exceeded guidance, with both rising by more than 20 per cent as we delivered more tonnes from existing infrastructure and growth projects ahead of schedule.

"At Escondida, an increase in mill throughput and concentrator utilisation offset copper grade decline, while our Onshore US business delivered a 73 per cent increase in petroleum liquids production.

"We expect to maintain strong momentum and remain on track to generate Group production growth of 16 per cent(1) over the two years to the end of the 2015 financial year. In Petroleum, we are investing in our highest-return acreage while a broader improvement in productivity is expected to underpin stronger iron ore, copper and metallurgical coal volumes. We will remain focused on value over volume as we prioritise our brownfield development options and consider the next phase of portfolio simplification."

(Reuters) - Diversified mining company BHP Billiton declared its preference for a demerger of its aluminium, manganese and nickel assets on Friday, setting the stage for the formation of a separate business that could be worth at least $12 billion (7 billion pounds).

BHP (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) said its board was considering a spin-off at meetings ahead of its annual results announcement next week. An Australian newspaper said those plans were well advanced and would include the Nickel West business that the world's biggest miner has been trying to sell.

"A demerger of a selection of assets is our preferred option," the company, which has a market capitalisation of $185 billion, said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

BHP has long aimed to sell or spin off its manganese, aluminium and nickel assets, which contribute little to its earnings. Simplifying the company would "generate stronger growth in cash flow and a superior return on investment", it said on Friday.

Some of the largest shareholders in BHP welcomed the announcement.

"It’s good to see BHP taking the lead in the sector on this. It reassures you as a shareholder. It makes me more willing to have it as a significant bet within my fund," said Christopher Moore, portfolio manager of Fidelity Global Industrials Fund.

"Really we should see more of this in the mining sector. I would expect others to take BHP’s lead. Rio Tinto, Anglo American could also follow suit in doing this."

BHP's rivals Anglo American (AAL.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) have both said they would focus on the parts of their portfolio that can deliver higher return.

BHP is likely to offload between $1.0-2.7 billion of its debt to the new vehicle, according to analysts. Any more than that could be challenging to handle for a company that relies on assets whose profitability can be volatile.

Its net debt as of Dec. 30 was $27.1 billion.

BHP BILLITON RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2014

· BHP Billiton reported a record low Total Recordable Injury Frequency of 4.2 per million hours worked and we suffered no fatalities during the period. While this is an encouraging result, our efforts to protect the health and safety of our people will be unrelenting.
· A significant improvement in productivity underpinned strong financial performance as Underlying attributable profit(1)(2) increased by 10% to US$13.4 billion. We embedded productivity-led volume and cost efficiencies(3) of US$2.9 billion, exceeding our target by 61% or US$1.1 billion. This means we have now delivered more than US$6.6 billion of sustainable productivity-led gains over the last two years.
· By further improving productivity and reducing our capital and exploration expenditure(4) by 32% to US$15.2 billion we delivered a substantial US$8.1 billion increase in free cash flow(2), despite weaker commodity prices. As a result, our balance sheet continued to strengthen and we finished the period with net debt(2) of US$25.8 billion.
· We have also announced plans to create an independent global metals and mining company via a demerger. With a simpler portfolio(5), we are targeting at least another US$3.5 billion of productivity‑related gains(6) by the end of the 2017 financial year.
· Capital and exploration expenditure(4) is expected to decline to approximately US$14.8 billion in the 2015 financial year and be no more than US$14 billion should the proposed demerger be implemented. By maintaining an internal focus and concentrating investment in our major basins we believe an average rate of return of greater than 20% is achievable for our favoured development options.
· With robust volume growth and further productivity gains expected, we remain confident in the outlook for the Group. On this basis, we increased our full-year progressive base dividend by 4% to 121 US cents per share for an Underlying payout ratio(7) of 48%. We will seek to steadily increase or at least maintain the dividend per share in US dollar terms at each half-yearly payment following the demerger, implying a higher payout ratio.
· We will return excess cash to shareholders in the most efficient way. By ensuring that we start from a position of strength, we will be well placed to implement an enduring program that can be managed in a more consistent and predictable manner.

StockMarketWire.com
BHP Billiton's group production increased by 9% during the three months to the end of September with records achieved for eight operations and four commodities.

The group says it is on track to deliver production growth of 16% over the two years to the end of the 2015 financial year and its guidance remains unchanged.

Metallurgical coal production increased by 25% to 13 Mt as Queensland Coal achieved record quarterly production and sales volumes.

Western Australia Iron Ore production increased by 15% to a quarterly record of 62 Mt (100% basis) as the ramp-up of Jimblebar continued ahead of schedule and the group improved the availability, utilisation and rate of its integrated supply chain.

Petroleum production increased by 7% to 67.4 MMboe as Onshore US liquids volumes rose by 49% to a record 11.5 MMboe.

Total copper production decreased by 1% to 389 kt as lower ore grades, a power outage throughout northern Chile and industrial action offset strong underlying operating performance at Escondida.

BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said: "Robust operating performance across our diversified portfolio in the September 2014 quarter delivered a nine per cent increase in production with records achieved for eight operations and four commodities. With production guidance maintained across all operations and businesses, we remain on track to generate Group production growth of 16% over the two years to the end of the 2015 financial year.

"Our relentless focus on productivity continues to yield strong results. At Western Australia Iron Ore, we have completed our major supply chain investments and, for the first time in a decade, we have no major projects in execution.

With our focus now on maximising the value of existing infrastructure, we plan to reduce costs and invest judiciously in very low capital cost debottlenecking initiatives. These plans are expected to increase total supply chain capacity to 290 Mtpa by the end of the 2017 financial year and reduce unit costs by at least 25% to less than US$20 per tonne. When combined with other initiatives across our portfolio we are very well positioned to reduce cash costs by more than US$2.3bn and deliver volume-related productivity gains of at least US$1.2bn by the end of the 2017 financial year."

of the major mining companies, this is definitely my fave
however, though it is a low cost ore producer, the current slowdown in china remains a major concern

Deutsche Bank reiterates buy on BHP Billiton, target cut from 2500p to 2400p.

Deutsche more optimistic than the rest, it seems:


29 Oct Credit Suisse 2,000.00 Neutral
28 Oct Credit Suisse 2,000.00 Neutral
28 Oct Jefferies... 1,700.00 Hold
28 Oct JP Morgan... N/A Neutral
28 Oct Charles Stanley N/A Accumulate

BLT Interesting. Right on a Support line going back to Aug 2012. Res levels 2100p and 2200p. Had a dabble. Ex Hedge fund manager at weekend was saying this is the next FTSE 100 LEADER along with BP....?

of the mining stocks, this has long been my fave ..... don't hold at the moment, but shall have another look

personally, i would go near bp .... as an individual stock, it seems to be stumbling from one disaster to another, and oil stocks in general are well (bad pun!) out of favour

Yep this guy runs this site and makes some very good calls.

He always buys down and out stock.

http://www.financialorbit.com/

Operational Review Half Year Ended 31 Dec 2014

BHP BILLITON OPERATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

- Group production increased by 9% during the December 2014 half year with records achieved for eight operations and five commodities. Production guidance remains unchanged and we are on track to deliver Group production growth of 16% over the two years to the end of the 2015 financial year.

- Metallurgical coal production increased by 21% to 26 Mt in the December 2014 half year as Queensland Coal and Illawarra Coal both achieved record half year volumes.

- Western Australia Iron Ore production increased by 15% to a record of 124 Mt (100% basis) in the December 2014 half year as the ramp-up of Jimblebar continued and we improved the availability, utilisation and rate of our integrated supply chain.

- Petroleum production increased by 9% to a record 131 MMboe in the December 2014 half year supported by a 71% increase in Onshore US liquids volumes to 24.4 MMboe.

- Copper production (1) decreased by 2% to 813 kt as strong underlying operating performance across the business was offset by lower grades at Antamina.

- Record manganese ore and alumina production was underpinned by strong performances at both Hotazel and the Alumar refinery.

BHP BILLITON RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014


§ The tragic loss of two of our colleagues is a stark reminder that the health and safety of our people must always come first.

§ Underlying EBIT(1) of US$9.2 billion and an Underlying EBIT margin(2) of 32% for the December 2014 half year results demonstrate the strength of BHP Billiton's strategy and the resilience of our portfolio in weaker markets.

§ Improved productivity and reduced capital expenditure allowed us to generate US$4.1 billion of free cash flow(2) and strengthen the balance sheet despite lower prices.

§ We are extending our productivity gains faster than initially anticipated with US$2.4 billion(3) achieved in the period. We expect over US$4.0 billion of productivity gains by the end of the 2017 financial year(4).

§ Our cost competitiveness continues to improve in all our major businesses, with unit cash costs reduced by 29% Western Australia Iron Ore, 15% at Queensland Coal, 13% at Escondida and 8% at Onshore US.

§ We reduced capital and exploration expenditure(5) by 23% to US$6.4 billion in the half year and plan to invest a total of US$12.6 billion in the 2015 financial year and US$10.8 billion in the 2016 financial year.

§ We will remain disciplined. Our plans are flexible and we continue to expect an average investment return(6) of greater than 20% for our portfolio of high-quality development options.

§ Our balance sheet is strong. Net debt(2) at period end fell to US$24.9 billion for a gearing ratio of 22.4% and our A+ credit rating was recently reaffirmed.

§ The Group's interim dividend increased by 5% to 62 US cents per share, representing and Underlying payout ratio(7) of 62%.

§ Should the proposed demerger of South32 be approved, we do not plan to rebase our progressive dividend downwards, implying a higher underlying payout ratio, and South32 will adopt its own dividend policy.

CitiBank summary:
"BHP Downgrade to Neutral — Diversity has previously saved BHP, but we are bearish on the 3 biggest earnings drivers in iron ore, coking coal and oil. With net debt rising in FY15 & 16, and rising further after South32 demerger, we expect further cuts to capex will likely be required. We downgrade BHP to Neutral, previously Buy."

StockMarketWire.com
Equity research analysts at Goldman Sachs have moved to a 'neutral' rating (from 'conviction buy') on mining group BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), stating that it sees limited catalysts for the stock in the near future.

The City heavyweight added: "Our reasons for downgrade are threefold: 1) our commodities team downgrade of iron ore implies BHP's average earnings (EBITDA) for 2015-17E fall by 7%. 2) On our commodity price deck we believe BHP will not be able to cover its dividend from FCF (FY16/17E dividend yield is forecast to be 6.3%/6.7% while FCF yield is 2.9%/4.9%). And 3) South32 catalyst played out."

Goldman also cut its price target to 1,400 pence a share (from 1,600 pence), implying 4 per cent downside based on yesterday's closing price.

StockMarketWire.com
BHP Billiton's group production increased by 9% for the 2015 financial year. Over the past two years, production from its core portfolio grew by 27%.

Petroleum production increased by 4% to a record 256 MMboe, supported by a 67% increase in Onshore US liquids volumes to 56 MMboe.

Copper production was unchanged at 1.7 Mt as strong operating performance at Escondida offset the impact of a mill outage at Olympic Dam.

Western Australia Iron Ore production increased by 13% to a record 254 Mt (100% basis), underpinned by productivity gains across the integrated supply chain.

Metallurgical coal production increased by 13% to a record 43 Mt.

Three major projects achieved first production during the 2015 financial year, including the Escondida Organic Growth Project 1 which was completed in the June 2015 quarter.

The demerger of South32 from BHP Billiton was successfully completed during the June quarter.

Underlying attributable profit in the June 2015 half year is expected to include additional charges in a range of approximately US$350 million to US$650 million.

Chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said: "Our businesses performed well over the 2015 financial year. We have improved the performance of our equipment, reduced costs, and increased volumes despite a significant reduction in capital spend. Our simpler portfolio following the demerger of South32 will help us maintain the pace of operational improvement, further supporting cash generation, margins and returns. "Better productivity will be the sole source of volume growth at Western Australia Iron Ore in the 2016 financial year with production forecast to increase by seven per cent and unit costs are expected to fall to US$16 per tonne. "In Petroleum, through improved recoveries and lower drilling costs, we expect to maintain production in the Black Hawk and Permian in the 2016 financial year despite cutting annual shale investment by over 50 per cent. Although our decision to cut spending in the Onshore US will mean deferring gas volumes in the near term, we expect to realise greater value by developing our acreage later.

"We remain confident that our focus on best-in-class performance together with our unrivalled asset quality, optimal diversification and continued investment in high-return projects, will create long-term value through the cycle and deliver superior returns to our shareholders."

BHP BILLITON RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2015

· The health and safety of our people is our first priority. After no fatalities in the 2014 financial year, we tragically lost five colleagues this year. It is our ongoing goal to have a workplace free from fatalities and serious injury and we have implemented a company-wide program to improve performance.
· Underlying EBITDA(1) of US$21.9 billion and an Underlying EBITDA margin(2) of 50% for the 2015 financial year demonstrate the quality of our portfolio and its resilience in challenging markets. Underlying EBIT(1) declined by 46% to US$11.9 billion.
· Our focus on best-in-class performance delivered productivity gains of US$4.1 billion(3), two years ahead of target. We expect further cost reductions in the 2016 financial year across all businesses.
· Capital and exploration expenditure(4) decreased by 24% to US$11.0 billion in the period and is expected to decline to US$8.5 billion in the 2016 financial year and US$7.0 billion in the 2017 financial year.
· Improved operating and capital productivity combined with the flexibility of our investment program supported free cash flow(2) of US$6.3 billion.
· We maintained our solid A credit rating(5) and finished the period with net debt(2) of US$24.4 billion, a decline of US$1.4 billion.
· Our commitment to the progressive dividend is unchanged. Our full-year dividend increased by 2% to 124 US cents per share.

Jefferies note:
"If commodity prices stabilize as we expect, highly leveraged miners should take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen their balance sheets via asset sales and equity issuances. Miners with financial flexibility are best positioned to buy high quality assets at a very weak point in the cycle. BHP and Rio - two of our top picks - have strong balance sheets but should change their dividend policies to capitalize on opportunities.
Recent share price recovery has been dramatic and has created opportunities: The Glencore share price collapse from last week dragged most of the sector down with it. Fears about a funding issue for Glencore have subsided, and mining equity valuations have re-rated as a result. The delay to a Fed rate hike has also helped the sector, and the demand outlook for China has arguably modestly improved due to property market strength and potential targeted fiscal stimulus. We expect mining share prices to be supported in the near-term as macro headwinds have eased. As we discuss in this note, miners with leveraged balance sheets should take advantage of the recovery as downside tail risks have not disappeared. We expect M&A activity to materially increase over the next year, and leveraged miners will continue to be under pressure to recapitalize their balance sheets via asset sales and equity issuances. It is increasingly likely that higher quality assets will be made available. Miners with strong balance sheets and financial flexibility have the opportunity to create long-term value via asset purchases at what is still a very weak point in the cycle.
BHP and Rio have progressive dividend policies which limit their financial flexibility: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have rock solid balance sheets, but almost all of their free cash flow is being used to pay dividends. Based on our analysis, they are therefore limiting their ability to create value via opportunistic investment during the current downturn. Their dividend yields (7.2% for BHP and 5.9% for Rio) are high enough to indicate that the market already expects a dividend cut at some point. However, they are unwilling to cut their dividends because they have progressive dividend policies.
BHP and Rio should scrap their progressive dividends and go to a payout ratio instead: A shift to a dividend payout equal to 50% of free cash flow would imply a still respectable 3.3% dividend yield for BHP and for Rio. Most importantly, dividend cuts to these levels would save BHP $3.5 billion and Rio $1.8 billion per year. This would give these companies significant financial flexibility to buy good assets at what is clearly a weak point in the cycle. We would expect them to be most interested in large, long reserve life, low risk copper assets since the NPV of acquiring these assets would likely be higher than the NPV to build. Anglo American, Freeport, First Quantum and some other major miners have high quality copper assets that could be sold. An opportunity to drive share prices higher even if commodity prices do not recover: Buying high quality assets on the cheap would create more shareholder value than using all FCF to pay dividends, based on our analysis. This acquisition strategy would likely drive BHP's and Rio's share price higher over time, even if the strategy is accompanied by a lower, payout-based dividend. Dividend payments that absorb all of a company’s free cash flow may support share prices in the short-term, but we do not believe they create longterm shareholder value."