Combined BHP Ports Unions said on August 18 they failed to reach a wage agreement with BHP for workers at the Port Hedland operations in Western Australia, with talks expected to resume on Aug 25.

Reuters quoted the unions as saying that BHP's proposal at the August 18 meeting did not adequately address workers' concerns.

A BHP spokesperson told Reuters the company remains "committed to bargaining in good faith and believe all parties engaging through the Commission is the best way to reach a fair and reasonable agreement".

The spokesperson added that BHP has proposed a 16% pay increase for most port employees over the proposed four-year agreement, along with enhanced some allowances.

Negotiations have dragged on for months. Earlier this month, some BHP workers at Port Hedland staged a second planned stoppage, part of the port's first major industrial action in 25 years.

Around 150 workers took part in the two-day strike at Port Hedland on Aug 8-9, following an eight-hour walkout by hundreds of workers in the iron ore division on July 16.

Port Hedland is the world's largest iron ore export hub, handling all of BHP's Australian iron ore output, with approximately $80 million worth of iron ore from BHP shipped through the port daily.

However,  BHP CEO Brandon Craig said he does not expect the industrial action to impact the company's performance.

Earlier on the same day, BHP reported better-than-expected full-year results, with underlying attributable profit rising 30% to $13.2 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, beating the $12.66 billion estimate from Visible Alpha.

In addition, BHP declared a final dividend of 99 cents per share, bringing the full-year payout to $1.72 per share, the highest in four years.

The strong results were driven by record copper prices. It is reported that including by-products such as gold and uranium, BHP's copper business generated $18.19 billion in operating earnings for the year, surpassing the iron ore division's $14.53 billion and becoming the company's primary earnings driver.