Following the tumbling of raw materials to a 25-year low in January, its worst result since 2001 was reported by BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, as its full-year underlying profit declined 81 percent.

Melbourne-based BHP said Tuesday in a statement that in the year ended June 30, from $6.4 billion a year earlier, the underlying profit of the company fell to $1.2 billion. 19 analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg had pegged it at $1.04 billion average estimate.

Oversupply and slower growth in China, the biggest commodities buyer resulted in BHP following rival Rio Tinto Group which also posted lower profits after prices, including of its top earner iron ore which plunged to about half their 2011 peak. According to Shaw and Partners Ltd, with a rebound in prices and higher output to lift profits this fiscal year, the result will likely mark a low point for BHP.

“I’m confident this is the earnings nadir. The direction for earnings from here is higher,” said Peter O’Connor, a Sydney-based analyst with Shaw and Partners Ltd.

Since touching an 11-year low on Jan. 21, BHP has advanced 13 percent in Sydney trading. After commodities surged the most in the first half since the 2008 financial crisis as China’s economy stabilized and policy makers backed growth, the 98-member Bloomberg World Mining Index has advanced about 40 percent.

“While commodity prices are expected to remain low and volatile in the short to medium term, we are confident in the long-term outlook for our commodities, particularly oil and copper,” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie said in the statement. He said that decisions for investments by BHP on a copper growth program at the Spence operation and on the Mad Dog 2 conventional oil project would be made by the end of 2017.

The producer said in its statement that BHP recorded a full-year net loss of $6.4 billion. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, since the company was formed in the 2001 merger of BHP Ltd. and Billiton Plc, that’s the first annual loss. According to the data, underlying profits were the lowest since fiscal 2001.

BHP said that in anticipation of its U.S. shale assets amid weaker oil prices¸ global tax issues and the deadly dam spill at its Samarco iron ore joint venture in Brazil, the producer booked after-tax charges of $7.7 billion. As many as 19 people died and hundreds more were left homeless as billions of gallons of mining waste was released through a valley in the Nov. 5 dam collapse in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.

BHP said in its statement that the results of an external investigation into the incident will be available in the next few weeks and Samarco won’t have necessary approvals to restart operations this year.

The company said that capital expenditure will be cut further to $5 billion in the current fiscal year as it fell 42 percent to $6.4 billion. Under a policy set out in February that links the payment to profits, BHP’s full-year dividend fell 76 percent to 30 cents a share.

The company said in the statement that in the past fiscal year¸ the average prices that BHP receives for every key product fell. As iron ore declined 28 percent and copper dropped by 23 percent, oil prices plunged 43 percent in the 12 months ended June 30.

Rio warned this month there’s uncertainty around demand and said market conditions remain volatile and challenging while iron ore has led the commodity price rebound in 2016 because of a pick-up in construction in China. A 47 percent drop in profit was reported by Rio this month.

(Adapted from Bloomberg)