BHP Billiton's chiefs insist the size of the global mining giant's shareholder dividends and future plans won't be harmed by plunging iron ore prices.
However extra capital returns to shareholders such as buybacks might be delayed, with chairman Jac Nasser and chief executive Andrew Mackenzie placing that well behind their priority of ensuring BHP's balance sheet is healthy.
Iron ore prices tumbled to fresh five-year lows of $US70 overnight, leaving only a handful of miners such as BHP and Rio Tinto still profitable.
"With the levers we have, looking after the dividend is a number one imperative for the board and for, I think, the management team," chief executive Andrew Mackenzie told reporters after BHP's annual general meeting on Thursday.
"As things are we feel the dividend at the current level is well covered."
But the much hoped-for capital returns to BHP shareholders, similar to those promised by rival Rio Tinto for early 2015, might not be coming.
Mr Nasser said such returns could only be considered after progressive dividend increases, the protection of BHP's credit rating and selective investments for growth.
Mr Mackenzie said he was surprised when the iron ore price dropped below $US100 a tonne, but the latest price fall was unsurprising and built into BHP's scenarios.
He also brushed off recent criticism from Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett, who accused BHP of over-supplying the market.
"We have not had an approval of an expansion project at our board since 2011," he said.
"Our company has been very clear that the time for massive expansions in iron ore is over and we have shifted investment into the energy sector - predominantly copper and petroleum - and started doing that three years ago."
BHP plans to increase production by nearly nine per cent to 245 million tonnes this financial year.
Earlier, Mr Mackenzie reinforced to shareholders the importance of lifting productivity, saying it was a major driver of BHP's $10.4 billion full year profit and its $1.18 a share dividend despite commodity price falls.
Mr Nasser also talked up the benefits of a multi-billion dollar plan to spin off some of BHP's less profitable assets into a company dubbed NewCo.
An extraordinary general meeting will be held in May 2015 so shareholders can vote on the demerger.
The rationale for demerging the aluminium, nickel, silver and coal assets was that BHP's portfolio had evolved into what the company saw as two distinct companies, he said.
"Our strategy was to direct capital to projects in businesses that delivered the highest returns. This strategy has served our shareholders well," Mr Nasser said.
BHP's shares closed 87 cents lower at $31.80.
