BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) is a global leader in the resources industry, with a diversified portfolio of natural resources. The company's operations include: iron ore, coking and thermal coal, copper, zinc, oil & gas and diamonds.
BHP Billiton says full-year was ‘very challenging’, but it achieved a solid performance
BHP Billiton PLC (ASX: BHP; LSE: BLT) issued a production report for the financial year to end-June 2009, saying the period proved to be very challenging, with significant demand contraction exacerbated by dramatic movements in inventory levels.
In the context of this environment, BHP Billiton achieved a solid operational performance, despite making production adjustments across a range of commodities, including metallurgical coal, nickel and manganese, it said.
In the short term, underlying demand trends in its markets for minerals and metals are still being masked by de-stock and stocking activities.
For the fourth quarter, the miner reported a 10 percent yearon-year fall in iron ore output after its operations were affected by mining fatalities and flooding in western Australia. Output of metallurgical coal rose 4 percent in the quarter from the previous year, while copper output was down 21 percent.
Copper production was cut due to lower grade ore mining and reduced output from milling operations at its 57.5 percent-owned Escondida copper mine in Chile, the company said. BHP plans to shut down the Laguna mill at Escondida in the current first quarter for 45 days to make repairs.
Escondida's mined copper output was down 37 percent in the fourth quarter at 111,500 tonnes, while cathode production rose 22 percent to 49,400 tonnes from the previous fourth quarter quarter.
“China inventory build is essentially complete, while we are now seeing evidence that re-stocking has commenced in North America, Europe and Japan. However, commodity prices will be influenced by supply responses due to latent capacity currently existing in the industry,” BHP said.
