Top miner BHP Billiton , bidding for rival Rio Tinto in what would be the world's second-biggest takeover , posted a 12.4 percent rise in full-year net profit to a record $15.4 billion , as Chinese demand stoked a commodities boom.
Year-to-end-June net profit was up from $13.4 billion the previous year and in line with analysts' forecast.
Shares in BHP, the world's biggest mining company , have fallen 5.4 percent this year to Friday's close, outperforming Australia's S&P/ASX 200 resources sector subindex , which is off 9 percent.
I love this company. I'm betting that some big caps like BHP are going to merge with other ones or split into mini big core commodity plays to achieve better synergies with uptick in individual commodities.
Anyway, commodities will take a breather in the second half of 2008 (read after Beijing Olympics) and perhaps into first quarter 2009, then regain their upswing for another long bull.
You could wait till the second half to get better deals with companies like BHP but in either case you can't go wrong with best of breed companies.
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Canaccord upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold citing valuation following the severe price decline following BHP Billiton's (NYSE: BHP) dropped bid.
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