SYDNEY, August 18 – The world\’s biggest mining company BHP Billiton Ltd. posted a record 15.39-billion-US-dollar annual net profit Monday, setting an Australian corporate record.
The Anglo-Australian resources giant beat last year\’s net profit of 13.4 billion dollars by 14.7 percent, but the result was slightly down on analysts\’ expectations of 15.9 billion.
BHP said it expected demand for commodities to remain strong in the longer term but that the global economy would slow in the near term.
The firm in February embarked on a hostile takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto.