The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is higher after the global mining giant announced its full-year FY25 results today.
The ASX 200 mining share opened at $41.60, up 0.31%, then rose to an intraday high of $42.12, up 1.57%, before falling back.
The BHP share price is currently $41.93, up 1.11%.
Let's check out the numbers.
BHP share price lifts as miner maintains impressive EBITDA margin
Here are the highlights of the report:
- Revenue of US$51.262 billion, down 8% on FY24, mainly due to lower iron ore and coal prices
- Expenses (excluding net finance costs, depreciation, amortisation and impairments) of US$26.671 billion
- Capital and exploration costs of US$9.8 billion, up 6% on FY24
- Underlying profit attributable to BHP shareholders of US$10.157 billion, down 26% on FY24
- Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$25.978 billion, down 10% on FY24
- Underlying EBITDA margin of 53%, down from 54% in FY24 but maintaining a 20-year annual average of above 50%
- Underlying return on capital employed (ROCE) of 20.6%, down from 27.2% in FY24
- Net operating cash flow of US$18.7 billion, down 10% on FY24
- Net debt of US$12.9 billion, up from US$9.1 billion in FY24
- Basic earnings per share (EPS) of 177.8 US cents per BHP share, up from 155.8 US cents per share in FY24
- Underlying EPS of 200.2 US cents per share, down from 269.5 US cents per share in FY24
- Final dividend of 60 US cents per share with 100% franking to be paid on 25 September
BHP said revenue fell in FY25 due to lower iron ore and coal prices, which were partially offset by higher copper prices.
The miner beat some of the consensus expectations of analysts and missed others.
As my Fool colleague James reported, the consensus estimate was for revenue of US$51.291 billion, so BHP fell short.
Analysts also had a consensus expectation of US$25.759 billion in underlying EBITDA, which BHP beat.
Net debt was expected to come in at US$13.207 billion, and on this metric, BHP did better than expected.
The full-year dividend is US$1.10 per BHP share, which is 25% lower than the US$1.46 per share declared in FY24.
This reflects a payout ratio of 60%.
What else happened in FY25?
BHP reported record iron ore production overall, totalling 263 Mt, up 1% on FY24, with an EBITDA margin of 63%.
The miner said this was driven by recent investment in the Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) supply chain.
WAIO produced 290 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore in FY25, with that production split between BHP and its co-owners.
BHP said it remained the world's lowest-cost major iron ore producer.
The miner got an average realised price of US$82.13 per wet metric tonne, down 19% from US$101.40 in FY24.
The company reported 2,017 kt of copper production, up 8% on FY24 and the first time above 2,000 kt.
BHP's copper EBITDA margin was 59%, up 8% on FY24.
Copper's contribution to BHP's earnings rose significantly in FY25.
BHP said copper contributed 45% of its overall underlying EBITDA in FY25 compared to 29% in FY24.
The average realised copper price was US$4.25 per pound, up 7% on FY24.
BHP said Escondida delivered its highest output in 17 years, up 16% on FY24.
Spence also reached record production levels.
The Copper SA operation delivered record production in H2 FY25 after overcoming the impacts of weather-related power outages.
In FY25, BHP invested US$2.1 billion to acquire a 50% interest in the Vicuña joint venture copper project.
The JV project includes the Josemaria and Filo del Sol deposits.
BHP said Filo del Sol is one of the largest copper deposit discoveries in the past 30 years.
Copper was a major focus for investment in FY25, with BHP allocating US$4.5 billion of its US$9.8 billion capital and investment costs.
Major expenses in FY25 included US$1.8 billion in settlement obligations relating to the Samarco dam failure.
In October 2024, BHP suspended its Western Australia nickel operations, leading to some impairment costs.
What did BHP management say?
BHP CEO Mike Henry said record production, ongoing sector-leading margins and disciplined capital allocation led to "robust financial outcomes".
He said the strong FY25 performance reflected the resilience of BHP's business and strategy amid global economic and trade uncertainty.
Henry said demand for commodities remained strong, particularly in China and India.
Chinese copper demand outperformed in FY25, while iron ore demand was resilient, driven by strong infrastructure investment and manufacturing activity in China.
Steelmaking coal prices have softened due to oversupply, though policy shifts in China and new blast furnace capacity in Asia are expected to support the market.
Potash markets are expected to continue to benefit from a growing and wealthier population and the need for more sustainable agriculture.
Henry said the miner was confident in the long-term fundamentals of steelmaking materials, copper and fertilisers, which were critical to global growth, urbanisation and the green energy transition.
Backed by a diversified portfolio of large, long-life assets, disciplined low-cost operations and a strong balance sheet, BHP is well-positioned to deliver enduring value through the cycle.
What's next for BHP?
BHP said it would continue to invest in growth.
The miner expects capital and exploration expenditure to rise to US$11 billion per year in FY26 and FY27.
The miner said it would reduce to an average of US$10 billion each year between FY28 and FY30.
BHP said it had a strong balance sheet that would be leveraged to fund its organic growth projects "while we continue to deliver attractive shareholder returns".
The company has increased its net debt target range to between US$10 billion and US$20 billion for FY26.
That's up from the previous estimate of between US$5 billion and US$15 billion.
The company said:
As well as Vicuña, we have a strong pipeline of growth projects, including at Jansen, Escondida, Copper SA and WAIO.
We maintain flexibility to adjust our capital spending and phasing of projects to accommodate market dynamics and cash flow generation.
BHP share price snapshot
The BHP share price has risen by just under 6% over the past 12 months.
