Growth prospects remain attractive for BHP Billiton

As miner BHP Billiton updates the market, Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, explains what it means for investors.

"This morning, BHP Billiton reported "robust operating performance with annual production records across ten operations" and an 11% increase in copper production in the final quarter. The successful integration of the US shale liquids and gas assets contributed to a 40% increase in petroleum production for the year. However, coal production remained subdued due to bad weather and industrial action.

"Overall, these are pleasing results for investors especially given the economic background, with China, the largest raw materials consumer, displaying a slowdown in activity.  However, investors should be wary of a number of significant projects that the group is proposing and their potential to drain capital resources.

"We continue to recommend investors 'buy' BHP Billiton as we believe that in the longer term the company remains in a strong position to grow profits when sentiment becomes more positive. We would suggest investors seeking growth opportunities drip feed into the stock taking advantage of weakness in the share price."