“(Share) unification will simplify BHP’s structure, make it easier for the company to make equity-based acquisitions, and make it easier for other corporate restructurings, including the Petroleum/Woodside merger,” Jefferies analysts said in a note.
The group plans to sell its petroleum assets to Woodside Petroleum Ltd, creating a new, bigger petroleum company to better navigate the energy transition and give shareholders greater choice in how they manage their fossil fuels exposure, Chief Executive Mike Henry said.
The deal will give BHP shareholders a 48% stake in the new company.
Jansen is expected to produce 4.35 million tonnes of potash per year from 2027
“We (will also) create a better ability to allocate capital within BHP towards investments longer-term … in future-facing commodities and support for more returns to shareholders,” Henry said.
BHP’s London-listed shares surged nearly 10% after its results.
The miner’s Australia-listed shares have climbed more than a fifth this year as it posted record iron ore output and earned more than double per tonne for the steel-making ingredient.
After unifying its shares, BHP will retain a secondary listing in London, where stocks have traditionally traded at a deep discount to Australian stocks.
Iron ore prices have hit record highs supported by Beijing’s infrastructure push, although a resurgence of covid-19 cases in China and its vow to lower emissions by curbing steel output is expected to be a drag on the commodity.
BHP’s underlying profit for fiscal 2021 rose to $17.08 billion, but slightly missed a consensus of $17.46 billion compiled by Vuma.
The miner will pay $2 per share as a final dividend, totalling $10.1 billion, bringing the total payout for the year to $3.01 a share, or $15.2 billion.
BHP said it was going ahead with its Jansen potash project, which is expected to cost $5.7 billion in the first phase, offering the company a route to growth in new “future-facing commodities”.
The miner took a $1.3 billion charge for existing infrastructure spending on its potash asset, which analysts said could make it more attractive to any potential partner.
“Giving the go-ahead to Jansen is not enough, they should do much more,” said a top 20 investor who declined to be named. “They should create a partnership with Nutrien Ltd and even take it over.”
The Canadian potash major is seen as an ideal partner to dilute BHP’s risk and development costs. BHP says it is open to but not in need of a partner, while Nutrien has said that any tie-up with BHP is not its focus.
Jansen is expected to produce 4.35 million tonnes of potash per year from 2027. Potash is a key element in plant nutrition that also makes crops more drought-resistant.
On a call following the results, CEO Henry said BHP remains committed to its high-quality steel-making coal business which it expects to grow with infrastructure needs supporting the energy transition, even as the company looks to exit thermal coal.
BHP took an impairment charge of $1.70 billion in fiscal 2021 related to rehabilitation and mine planning at its thermal coal assets for which a sales process is still underway.
($1 = 1.3717 Australian dollars)
(By Melanie Burton, Nikhil Kurian Nainan, Anushka Trivedi and Clara Denina; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Susan Fenton)
TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.
The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.
The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.
Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
