BHP delivered another strong set of results this year despite lower commodity prices and inflationary pressures. 

Our underlying attributable profit was US$13.4 billion, or 265 US cents per share. Underlying EBITDA remained healthy at US$28 billion while our margin, at 54 per cent, and return on capital employed, at 29 per cent, remained strong – reflecting the quality and resilience of our assets, and consistent operating performance. 

Ensuring shareholders continue to benefit from our consistent and reliable performance, we’ve announced a final dividend of 80 US cents per share. Together with the shareholder dividend for the first half of 90 US cents per share, the total return to shareholders for FY2023 was US$8.6 billion, which represented a 64 per cent payout ratio.  

We continue to deliver strong margins and a consistently high baseline of cash flow. Over the past decade, we have delivered margins of over 50 per cent – significantly ahead of our nearest competitors – and generated average net operating cash flows of more than US$20 billion per year. 

This stability is a hallmark of our business and demonstrates the quality of our portfolio and the consistency of our returns.  

In FY2023, our tax, royalty and other payments to governments totalled US$13.8 billion. During the last decade, we paid US$94.2 billion globally in taxes, royalties and other payments, including US$74.9 billion (approximately A$101 billion) in Australia. Our global adjusted effective tax rate in FY2023 was 30.9%. Once royalties are included, our FY2023 rate increases to 41.3%.  

How we create and deliver value

The world is on a path of population growth, increased urbanisation and a lower greenhouse gas emissions future. BHP is committed to playing our role in building a better world. We seek to do so responsibly and sustainably while continuing to create value for our shareholders and the broader community.  

Our portfolio

We have continued to focus our portfolio on iron ore and higher-quality metallurgical coal preferred by our steelmaking customers, copper which is used in electrification, nickel which is used in electric cars, and potash to make food production and land use more efficient and more sustainable. 

Social value

We are committed to social value, BHP’s positive contribution to society, and sustainability, and are making progress in responsibly providing more of the resources the world needs to develop. 

We believe this commitment can help us become a partner of choice with communities, governments, suppliers and our customers. 

Exceptional performance

The strength of our portfolio, our operating excellence and financial rigour from disciplined capital application have helped us deliver strong and consistent returns.

We continue to make improvement part of what we do every day through our BHP Operating System (BOS) tools and processes.

Positioning for the future

We have continued to create a simpler, more efficient BHP, that we believe is better able to capitalise on the megatrends shaping our world.

As the population grows, urbanisation increases and as the world increasingly pursues a lower greenhouse gas emissions energy transition, we continue to position our portfolio for success.

Unlocking growth potential at our assets

Our biggest near-term growth lever is from improving productivity at our existing assets and unlocking more of their untapped potential.

We hold the world’s largest copper mineral resources⁵, the second-largest nickel sulphide resources globally⁶ and are one of the world’s largest iron ore producers.

Growth through exploration, focused on copper and nickel

During FY2023, we advanced our exploration programs globally, including undertaking further drilling at the Ocelot project in Arizona.

We also pursued earlier stage exploration opportunities for copper in Australia, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Serbia and the United States, and have increased the number of high-quality nickel projects within the exploration pipeline.

Health and safety

A culture that embraces care and trust as core values is fundamental to achieving improved outcomes. 

Our highest priority is to protect the safety and wellbeing of our workforce and the communities where we operate. 

We set clear mandatory minimum performance standards to identify, assess and manage health risks and their potential impacts, and monitor the health of our workforce.  

Inclusion and diversity

We believe an inclusive and diverse workforce promotes safety, productivity and wellbeing, and underpins our ability to attract and retain the best people. 

Gender balance

In CY2016, we announced our aspiration to achieve gender balance within our employee workforce globally by the end of FY2025.

We are confident of achieving gender balance by the end of FY2025. 

Indigenous employment

Indigenous peoples are critical partners of BHP’s operations around the world. 

We recognise, as part of our global Indigenous Peoples Policy Statement, that we can contribute to the economic empowerment of Indigenous peoples through providing opportunities for employment, training and procurement and by supporting Indigenous enterprises.