Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, BHP Billiton Group is a leading global resources company that operates in diverse commodity and geographic markets. Its stock is traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and also listed in London, Johannesburg, and New York. Following is information taken from its financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.

a. How many total shares has the BHP Billiton Group issued at June 30, 2012?

b. Does BHP Billiton Group have treasury shares? How many? What are possible reasons why a company would buy back its shares?

c. Determine the average amount the Group paid for treasury shares as of June 30, 2012.

d. By what amount did Retained Earnings change during the year? Can we infer that this difference represents net income for the year?

Transcribed Image Text:

BHP Billiton Group was formed in June 2001 from the merger of BHP Limited (an Australian listed company) and Billiton Plc (a UK listed company). The merger was effected by way of a dual listed companies (DLC) structure, meaning that although the companies technically continue to be separate legal entities (now renamed BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc) with separate share listings and share registers, they are managed and run as a single economic entity. The companies have a common Board of Directors and management team. Shareholders in BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc have equal economic and voting rights, as if they held shares in a single company.