The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is under the spotlight after the ASX mining share delivered its December update.
BHP is involved in a few different commodities including copper, iron ore, metallurgical coal, energy coal and nickel.
December 2023 operational performance
The ASX mining share revealed both its quarterly and half-yearly numbers.
Let’s look at the production numbers for the three months to December 2023, which could have an important influence on the BHP share price.
Quarterly numbers
Copper production was 437kt, down 4% from the FY24 first quarter, but up 3% from the FY23 second quarter.
Iron ore production of 65.8mt was up 4% from the FY24 first quarter, but down 2% from FY23 second quarter.
Metallurgical coal production of 5.7mt was up 2% quarter on quarter but down 18% year over year.
Energy coal production of 3.9mt was up 7% quarter on quarter and up 35% year over year.
Nickel production of 19.6kt was down 3% quarter on quarter, but up 11% year over year.
The business continues to make progress with its potash Jansen mine in Canada and the sanction of Jansen stage 2, which would double its planned potash production capacity.
Half-year production
Now that the first half of the 2024 financial year is over, BHP was able to tell investors about its performance for the six months to December 2023.
Copper production rose 7% to 894.4kt, iron ore production fell 2% to 129mt, metallurgical coal production sank 17% to 11.3mt, energy coal production rose 36% to 7.5mt and nickel production rose 4% to 39.8kt.
Guidance
BHP said its FY24 guidance was largely unchanged, with copper production still being 1,720kt to 1,910kt and iron ore production still expected to be 254kt to 264.5kt. Guidance is normally important for the BHP share price, because it’s a crucial input for how much profit the ASX mining share might produce.
The metallurgical coal guidance was lowered to 23mt to 25mt, down from 28mt to 31mt. BHP also said it’s expecting to achieve its upper end of guidance of between 13mt to 15mt.
The ASX mining share also said its main iron ore and copper operations are expected to be within their respective unit cost guidance range, though the metallurgical unit cost is increasing to between US$110 per tonne to US$116 per tonne as a result of the lowered production guidance.
Final thoughts on the BHP share price
Prior to today’s movements, the BHP share price had sunk around 8% in 2024 to date. It has certainly been lower over the past 12 months, but the price is looking a bit more reasonable. I’d prefer to invest when the iron ore price is much closer to US$100 per tonne (or under), rather than the current stronger level. I believe it’s better to invest in a cyclical stock near the bottom of the cycle, not when it’s generally stronger/on the way up.
There are other ASX dividend shares I’m more attracted to.
