TOL - 19th Feb, 2026
Copper dethrones iron ore as crown jewel, as BHP goes big on dividends and revenue
BHP CFO Vandita Pant says the world's largest miner is gunning for more growth after impressive H1 result.
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This interview was recorded on Tuesday 17 February 2026.
For companies as storied and significant as BHP Group (ASX: BHP), genuine milestones are a rare commodity.
And yet milestones are what define the company's 1H26 result, and which leave the world's largest miner within touching distance of potentially taking CBA's crown as Australia's most valuable company.
The numbers speak for themselves. Revenue was up 11% to $27.9 billion, a 2% beat to consensus estimates. Underlying EBITDA was up 25% to $15.5 billion and profit from operations was up 34% to $12.3 billion.
There was also an interim dividend of US$0.73 per share, at a dividend payout ratio of 60%, a 44% increase.
Most significantly, copper accounted for more than 50% of the BHP's overall revenue for the first time in the company's history. It's a milestone that has been years in the making, says Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant, as the company has pivoted away from iron ore to "future facing" metals.
"This is the result of executing our strategy for the past 3-4 years. We had said that we wanted to grow in copper and that is what has been happening."
BHP is the world's largest copper producer through its Escondida mine in Chile, and has increased production by 30%. It's also maintained its position as the lowest cost producer of iron ore through its Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) project.
Lower costs, greater growth
The impressive headline numbers belie the hard work and discipline that has got BHP to this point. While competitors are reducing production guidance, BHP is increasing guidance, despite ongoing headwinds.
"Our production was up 2%, with unit costs down by four and a half percent, despite inflation of more than 2% and currency headwinds," said Pant.
While the company has benefitted from rising copper prices, a large part of its success has come from operational and strategic consistency and a focus on costs.
"It's very important to have a cost discipline because it's one of the things that we can control."
"This is not easy to do," said Pant. "These are big, complex businesses, but we have built a track record of being really disciplined around our costs, making sure that we do everything that is needed to make every dollar count. It's a testament to our teams across the world that we continue to do that."
She says there is still opportunity for further improvement there, with BHP aiming to further improve volume and reduce costs at both its WAIO and Escondida sites in the medium term.
There's also an "exciting suite" of other projects across Canada and Argentina that should help solidify BHP's position on copper and potash, and material volumes of uranium, gold and silver in its South Australia copper mine.
It will also see US$4.3 billion in cash added later this year, thanks to the sale of rights to future silver production in its Antamina copper mine in Peru.
"That kind of performance backed by very strong cash flows from operations, along with unlocking value for our shareholders with cash, means that our balance sheet is in very good shape."
"The sustainability of this performance is writ large across the performance of all our assets."
A return to form on dividends
For investors, the upshot of BHP's strong performance has been an impressive interim dividend, after last year delivered the lowest full-year dividend in eight years.
"We had earnings growth of 25% and underlying profits increased by 22%," said Pant. "That has enabled us, along with our confidence in outlook for the coming period, to declare this dividend with a 60% payout ratio."
"We know how important dividends are to our shareholders and over the last 10 years we have paid back more than $110 billion in returns to our shareholders."
"It's a testament to the underlying performance of the business, but equally our disciplined approach for capital allocation framework."
It leaves the company in a historically strong position, where the value proposition couldn't be more straightforward, according to Pant.
"Stability and consistent performance matched with growth prospects which are very attractive. All that leads to good value for our shareholders and attractive returns."
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Tom is a Senior Investment Writer and Presenter at Livewire Markets, having worked as a writer and editor for 10 years, specialising in investing and personal finance.
He has previously worked at Finder, FourFourTwo and Man Of Many covering everything from film to football.
He has a Masters in Media Production and a Bachelor's in Journalism.
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Tom is a Senior Investment Writer and Presenter at Livewire Markets, having worked as a writer and editor for 10 years, specialising in investing and personal finance. He has previously worked at Finder, FourFourTwo and Man Of Many covering...
Expertise
Tom is a Senior Investment Writer and Presenter at Livewire Markets, having worked as a writer and editor for 10 years, specialising in investing and personal finance. He has previously worked at Finder, FourFourTwo and Man Of Many covering...
Expertise
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