date:Feb 24, 2014
Global mining giant BHP Billiton on February 18 posted a monster 83 percent first-half spike in net profit to US $8.1 billion on the back of spending cuts and strong production at its iron ore business. The result for the six months to December 31 was above expectations and compared to US $4.2 billion in the previous corresponding period, with revenues climbing 5.9 percent to US $33.95 billion.
Underlying earnings - which exclude one-off writedowns - rose 31 percent to a higher than forecast U