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BHP announces stock buyback, special dividend

BHP's sale of the US assets was at a heavy loss, after it had bought the operations in 2011 for US$20 billion

BHP will issue a special dividend for shareholders after selling its US shale assets, the miner said Monday as it completed a US$7.3 billion stock buyback. The world's biggest miner recently sold its US shale oil and gas operations to British giant BP for US$10.5 billion, and said it would return the funds to shareholders. The special dividend of US$1.02 a share will be paid out in mid-January. The stock buyback was set at Aus$27.64 per share. "Completion of this programme will bring total cash returned to shareholders to US$21 billion over the last two years," BHP chief financial officer Peter Beaven said in a statement. BHP's sale of the US assets was at a heavy loss, after it had bought the operations in 2011 for US$20 billion. The impairment charges from the sale saw BHP post a 37 percent slump in annual net profit to US$3.7 billion in the year to June 30. The Anglo-Australian firm has announced or completed more than US$18 billion of divestments over the last six years to focus on its most profitable core long-life operations -- iron ore, copper, petroleum, coal and potash. Shares in BHP were trading 1.36 percent higher at Aus$32.84 in Sydney on Monday.