Wednesday, 18th August 2004 (2750 views)

The world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton, has revealed a 78 per cent increase in profit due to rising demand from China.

The company's full-year net profit increased to $3.38 billion from $1.9 billion in 2003, as the Anglo-Australian company continues to benefit from strong prices.

BHP Billiton, which operates in a number of sectors including gold, also achieved cost savings of $185 million over the last 12 months, bringing the total benefits since the merger of BHP and Billiton to $780 million.

In a statement to the stock exchange BHP Billiton said: "World growth, China's strong demand growth and relatively low inventory levels have been instrumental in driving commodity prices to their highest levels in several years."

The mining firm also announced possible plans to implement a share buyback as part of a $2 billion capital management programme, however the scheme is dependent on market conditions.

 

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