BHP Cuts Dividend: 27 Years In The Making February 2016 The collapse of the commodities market over the past five years has been one of the very worst in twenty years. Such a major slump does not go by unnoticed, nor does it pass through without creating significant change. For iron miners like BHP Billiton, the significant change has come in the form of the corporation's dividend and its executive body. The Australian miner is one of the largest in the entire world, meaning that their sudden decision to cut their dividend signifies a major adjustment to the company's business model. BHP released a statement that the company's changes come on the back of their 2015 profits falling by no less than 92%. To adjust to this downward slide, the company has cut their dividend by from 62 cents to 16 cents and plans to roll out a new financial plan that ties future dividends to at least 50% of attributable profit per quarter. What's more, BHP announced that iron ore mining president Jimmy Wilson would be leaving the company (along with petroleum head Tim Cott). The news should have sent the company's stock prices tumbling, but a rally in iron ore prices caused investors to look at BHP with renewed confidence, sending their shares surging by nearly 6% on the New York Stock Exchange. Even so, the company remains in the red overall for 2016.
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.