BHP demerger news crashes company website

Posted: 19 Aug 2014 01:51 AM PDT

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) outlined Tuesday plans to form a new global metals and mining company based around its aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver assets and announced profits of $13.4 billion for the year.

BHP's shares, listed on more than a dozen exchanges with a market value of $180 billion, were punished in London, dropping more than 4% on the news.

The announcement attracted such attention that the official global website for the company crashed, leaving visitors only this message:

BHP demerger news crashes company website

Frik Els

Email: fels@mining.com

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Frik is editor and writer for MINING.com. Frik has worked as a financial journalist for 15 years appearing in a number of business and consumer publications including British Airways in-flight magazine, Business Insider, Fin24.com, Driving.ca, YCharts and Business in Vancouver. Frik was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Global Mining Summit in Las Vegas. (DISCLAIMER: Frik Els does not own shares or hold positions in any of the equities he writes about. Nothing written should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Seek the advice of a broker/dealer first.)

BHP shares hammered on demerger, profit miss

Posted: 19 Aug 2014 01:28 AM PDT

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) outlined Tuesday plans to form a new global metals and mining company based around its aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver assets.

The new company will be listed on the Australian stock exchange, with a secondary listing in South Africa, the countries where most of the mines are located.

The demerger process is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015. Current chief financial officer Graham Kerr was appointed to run the spinoff company from headquarters in Perth.

The unwanted assets make up most of the former Billiton which contribution to the group earnings has fallen from almost 30% at the time of the merger to about 10% today.

"With a simpler portfolio, we are targeting sustainable, productivity-led gains of at least $3.5B per annum by the end of the 2017 financial year," CEO Andrew Mackenzie said in a statement.

The Melbourne-based company goal is to make iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum the four pillars of the organization, with potash as a potential fifth.

BHP also reported an 8% rise in second-half earnings bringing its full year underlying attributable profit to $13.4 billion.

That's a jump from last $10.9 billion in the prior year thanks to record iron ore production, it's number one earner ahead of petroleum and copper, but came in below consensus forecasts.

BHP's shares, listed on more than a dozen exchanges with a market value of $180 billion, were punished in London, dropping more than 4% on the news.