SYDNEY—BHP Group Ltd. said it would pay a record dividend to shareholders, making it the latest global miner to lift returns even as data point to a global slowdown in economic growth.
BHP benefited from a sharp rise in iron-ore prices as China increased infrastructure spending and as supply was held back by production cuts in Brazil following a second deadly spill of mining waste in the past four years.
On Tuesday, BHP said it would pay a dividend of US$1.33 a share for the full year, above its own policy of returning 50% of earnings to shareholders. The miner reported a US$8.31 billion net profit for the 12 months through June—its highest in five years—reflecting the higher iron-ore price and one-off charges much lower than a year earlier.