BHP H1 Results Down, Cuts Dividend; Sees Positive Demand Outlook Ahead
BHP Group Limited (BHP.AX,BLT.L,BBL,BHP) reported Tuesday that its first-half attributable profit dropped 32 percent to $6.46 billion from last year’s $9.44 billion.
Basic earnings per share were 127.5 US cents, down 32 percent from 186.6 US cents a year ago.
Attributable profit from continuing operations was down 24 percent.
Underlying attributable profit was $6.60 billion, compared to prior period’s $9.72 billion.
Underlying basic earnings per ordinary share were 130.3 US cents, compared to 192.0 US cents last year.
Revenue dropped 16 percent to $25.71 billion from $30.53 billion a year ago.
Further, BHP announced a first-half dividend of 90 US cents per share, compared to last year’s 150 US cents.
Looking ahead, BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry said, “We are positive about the demand outlook in the second half of FY23 and into FY24, with strengthening activity in China on the back of recent policy decisions the major driver. We expect domestic demand in China and India to provide stabilising counterweights to the ongoing slowdown in global trade and in the economies of the US, Japan and Europe.”
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Stockland H1 FFO Edges Up; Backs Annual Outlook
Stockland Corporation Limited (SGP.AX,STKAF.PK), an Australian property development firm, on Tuesday reported a slight rise in Funds From Operations for the first-half of 2023.
Tarun Gupta, CEO of Stockland, said: “…1H23 FFO was up slightly despite a significant expected earnings skew to 2H for our MPC business. The earnings impact of this skew was offset by a higher contribution from our Commercial Property investment portfolio. This reflects solid like-for-like net operating income growth and the contributions from Logistics developments completed over FY22 and 1H23.”
For the six-month period, the Sydney-headquartered company posted FFO of $353 million or 14.8 cents per security, compared with $350 million or 14.7 cents per security of last year.
Adjusted FFO per security was at 13 cents, higher than 12.3 cents per security posted for the same period of 2022.
Statutory profit however declined to $301 million from previous year’s $580 million.
Looking ahead, for fiscal 2023, the company still projects FFO per security of 36.4 cents – 37.4 cents on a pre-tax basis.
Engie Annual Profit Falls Despite Increased Revenue
Engie SA (ENGQF.PK,ENGIY.PK), a French energy utility firm, on Tuesday posted a decline in profit for the full year. However, the company recorded a surge in revenue.
Engie said the decline in profit is mainly due to the negative effect of the mark-to-market on commodity contracts other than trading instruments, impairment losses, the Nord Stream 2 credit loss, the provision increase for the back-end nuclear fuel of Belgian nuclear power plants, and others.
For the 12-month period to December 31, 2022, the company posted a net income of 0.2 billion euros, lesser than 3.7 billion euros, recorded for previous fiscal.
“The full-year impairment of 2.8 billion euros was mainly related to consequences of the three-year review of nuclear provisions on the assets to be recognized against the provisions for the dismantling of power plants, continuation of the coal exit program and the continuing process of disposal of non-strategic assets including Thermal assets mainly in Chile and Morocco,” the company said in a statement.
EBIT stood at 9 billion euros as against 6.1 billion euros of 2021.
EBITDA moved down to 13.7 billion euros from 10.6 billion euros of previous fiscal.
The company’s revenue surged to 93.9 billion euros from 57.9 billion euros of last year.
For 2022, the company will pay a dividend of 1.40 euros per share.
Looking ahead, for 2023, excluding Nuclear, the company expects EBIT of 6.6 billion euros – 7.6 billion euros.
Safestore Q1 LFL Revenue Up 3.4% In CER
Safestore Holdings plc (SAFE.L) reported first-quarter revenue of 55.7 million pounds compared to 50.9 million pounds, previous year. Group revenue for the quarter in CER was up 8.4% and 9.4% at actual exchange rates.
Like-for-like revenue was 52.6 million pounds compared to 50.5 million pounds, last year. Like-for-like Group revenue for the quarter in CER was up 3.4%. Like-for-like occupancy was at 79.1% compared to 81.5%.
Safestore anticipates the business delivers adjusted EPRA earnings per share for 2022/23 in line with the consensus of analysts’ forecasts.
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Equinor To Sell Bahamas South Riding Point Oil Terminal
Equinor ASA(EQNR), a Norwegian petroleum refining company, said in Tuesday that it has inked a deal with Liwathon Group, an Estonian integrated logistics and investment business, to sell Equinor South Riding Point oil terminal at the Grand Bahama Island.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The terminal with the storage capacity of 6,8 million barrels, was commissioned in 1973, and was acquired by Equinor in 2009. Liwathon currently operates four facilities in Estonia.
Gold Edges Lower On Dollar Strength As Investors Await Fed Minutes
Gold prices inched lower on Tuesday and the dollar held firm as investors fretted about interest rates staying higher for longer.
Spot gold slipped 0.3 percent to $1,835.79 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 percent at $1,844.65.
The dollar hovered near a six-week high against a basket of currencies, as investors awaited minutes of the Fed’s latest policy meeting due to be released on Wednesday for more clarity on the outlook for inflation and the pace of interest-rate increases going ahead.
Rising tensions around the Russian-Ukraine war also supported the dollar.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to arrive in Moscow today on the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine to see President Zelenskiy.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China against providing “lethal support” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and condemned the latest North Korean missile launch.
In his long-anticipated state-of-the-nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin today blamed the West for starting the conflict in Ukraine, saying Western countries, led by the United States, were seeking “unlimited power” in world affairs.