BHP lifts outlook, pays record dividend during supercycle talk

MELBOURNE: BHP Group boosted its outlook for the global economy as the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines gathers pace, backing its optimism by rewarding investors with a record US$5.1bil first-half dividend payout and fueling expectations for a new commodities supercycle.

“The deployment of vaccines in key economies, albeit with some uncertainty as to timing and efficacy, removes a material amount of downside risk to the short term demand and price outlook for our portfolio commodities, ” the company said yesterday when reporting a 16% lift in first-half profit.