On August 24th, BHP Billiton released its performance report for the fiscal year 2022-2023 (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023). According to the communique, BHP Billiton's overall revenue decreased by $11.3 billion in the fiscal year 2022-2023; The distributable profit for the current period reached 13.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 37%.
BHP Billiton CEO Han Murui stated that it achieved strong performance in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. In the first half of the financial year performance report released in February 2023, we mentioned that the negative impact of inflation on the group's basic costs is decreasing. The operational pressure on non energy raw materials, logistics, and manufacturing supply chains has eased, and energy risks have become more balanced. However, labor costs remain the main forward-looking inflation risk. We believe that the lagging effect of inflation will continue to affect overall business performance, especially in the second half of 2023 Our performance BHP Billiton stated in the communique that the lagging effect of non labor inflation will affect its business performance for the fiscal year 2023-2024 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024).
BHP Billiton pointed out that in the long run, global population growth, improved living standards of the world's people, and active low-carbon transformation infrastructure construction are expected to continue to drive global market demand for steel, non-ferrous metals, and fertilizers. In the short term, due to inflation suppression policies and the impact of the energy crisis, the demand for commodities in developed countries has significantly decreased, but the demand for commodities in China and India will still remain relatively stable.
From the perspective of China, since the gradual adjustment of epidemic prevention measures in December 2022, its economic development situation has also changed accordingly. In March, China's industries supported by a series of commodities showed a higher than expected recovery trend, driving high market expectations for the strong performance of commodities throughout the year. However, this strong momentum was not fully sustained until June. BHP Billiton believes that achieving comprehensive economic recovery in China still requires more policy support, and therefore, the key factor in China's economic outlook for 2024 will depend on the effectiveness of the implementation of new policies.
From the perspective of India, the demand situation in the country is relatively stable, and with a significant increase in domestic investment, the demand for commodities is also correspondingly strong. With India's upcoming general election in the first half of 2024, it is expected that the country's economy will maintain a good momentum of development.
China Metallurgical Daily (September 1, 2023, 2nd edition, 2nd edition)