BlueScope Steel delivered a net profit for the first half of 2025/26 of $390.8 million, up 118 per cent from $179.1 million in the previous corresponding period.
The result was underpinned by a four per cent lift in sales revenue to $8.2 billion, setting the group up for an 81 per cent increase in underlying earnings before interest and tax to $557.5 million.
The company declared a dividend for the six months ended December 31 of 65 cents per share, more than double the 30 cents per share that analysts had predicted.
New chief executive Tania Archibald, presenting her first set of results, said BlueScope intended to lift its shareholder distribution target to return 75 per cent of free cashflow to shareholders, up from its previous target of 50 per cent.
BlueScope was nearing the tail end of a major project pipeline, she added.
"We can see the back end of that unusually large and long-term capital program starting to ramp down," Ms Archibald said.
"As we ramp down the spend, it's ramp up the returns to shareholders.Â
"We felt it was a nice thing to signal as part of the CEO transition."
Ms Archibald credited previous chief Mark Vassella's investments in capacity expansion, which led to the possibility of increased shareholder returns.
"Clearly, what we're trying to signal here is that we want to place more value into the hands of our shareholders; our shareholders have been very patient for a long period of time as we've undertaken these very significant investments," she said.
BlueScope shares fell two per cent to $28.57 in late morning trading.
The company owns the key Port Kembla steelworks in southern NSW and the North Star operation in the US, which uses scrap to produce hot-rolled steel at low cost, and has assets in New Zealand and Asia.
In January, the company rejected a $13.2 billion approach from the Stokes family-controlled SGH and Steel Dynamics of the US, which at the time equated to $30 a share.
The would-be predators later signalled their offer had effectively fallen to $29 per share after BlueScope announced it would hand back $438 million to shareholders.
SGH chief executive Ryan Stokes recently said the proposal was full and fair, although he was comfortable about moving on if BlueScope shareholders didn't see it that way.
BlueScope is forecasting its second-half underlying earnings before interest and tax to be between $620 million and $700 million - an improvement on the first half.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Owen Birrell said it was a solid result from BlueScope, with an interim dividend well ahead of consensus expectations.
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