Fifty Per Cent of BMA, Since 2001Narrow moat

Mitsubishi Corporation (8058) — moat facet

Mitsubishi paid about ¥100 billion for half of BMA in 2001 and earned nearly twice that in one year, and the same half now earns almost nothing.

Mitsubishi's coal business began in November 1968, when it established MDP to develop Australian coal1. In 2001 MDP acquired a 50% interest in BMA for about ¥100 billion2, and it has run the business with BHP ever since. BMA produced 36 million tonnes in calendar 2025, of which Mitsubishi's share is 50%3.

BMA under Mitsubishi1968MDP established200150% of BMA for about ¥100bn2 April 2024Blackwater and Daunia soldCalendar 202536 million tonnes producedYear to Mar 2026MDP net income ¥8.3bnMitsubishi Corporation results and presentation, May 2026
A 57-year history, and the latest year was the worst of the recent ones.

The investment is one of the best in the company's history: a ¥100 billion purchase that earned ¥190.2 billion in a single year as recently as the year to March 20244. MDP's plant and equipment is now carried at ¥1,160.6 billion5, reflecting decades of reinvestment.

The partnership is also a constraint. BHP owns the other half, and decisions about which mines to run, expand or sell are taken jointly. The April 2024 sale of Blackwater and Daunia6 was one such decision, and it reduced BMA's size while crystallising a gain.

Production has been disrupted recently: BMA's January-March 2026 production fell 3% to 3.8 million tonnes, which the company attributes to Cyclone Koji7.

The relationship with BHP has been through a full cycle. The coal businesses earned ¥190.2 billion in the year to March 20248, when coking coal prices were high, and the partners chose to sell two mines in April 20249, taking the gain before prices fell. What remains is the core of the business, and its value depends on a coal price recovery that neither partner controls.

The measure is BMA's annual production. It is the part of the business Mitsubishi and BHP control; a recovery toward the volumes of the years before the mine sales would restore earnings power even before prices recover.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

Two mines were sold, production was disrupted by a cyclone, and profit fell to ¥8.3 billion.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
BMA production, calendar 2025
36 million tonnes (100% basis), Mitsubishi 50%

Volume is the lever the partners control; a fall below this level would shrink the franchise regardless of price.

Source: Mitsubishi Corporation results presentation, May 2026 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Half, Not All
Mitsubishi owns half of BMA and cannot rescue it alone, which matters most when it needs rescuing.
References
  1. ReportedMitsubishi's coal business began in November 1968, when it established MDP to develop Australian coal.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIn 2001 MDP acquired a 50% interest in BMA for about ¥100 billion, and it has run the business with BHP ever since.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedBMA produced 36 million tonnes in calendar 2025, of which Mitsubishi's share is 50%.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - the LNG, copper and steelmaking coal portfolios with stakes, capacities and production volumes, data centre capacity, the Thai and Indonesian automotive businesses, and Cermaq's salmon volumes. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe investment is one of the best in the company's history: a ¥100 billion purchase that earned ¥190.2 billion in a single year as recently as the year to March 2024.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2024 results presentation - the review of Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024, the Enhance programmes covering all 244 operating companies, capital recycling, and the credit ratings. — FY to March 2025 · publ. 2 May 2025 · source ↗
  5. ReportedMDP's plant and equipment is now carried at ¥1,160.6 billion, reflecting decades of reinvestment.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe April 2024 sale of Blackwater and Daunia was one such decision, and it reduced BMA's size while crystallising a gain.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - the LNG, copper and steelmaking coal portfolios with stakes, capacities and production volumes, data centre capacity, the Thai and Indonesian automotive businesses, and Cermaq's salmon volumes. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedProduction has been disrupted recently: BMA's January-March 2026 production fell 3% to 3.8 million tonnes, which the company attributes to Cyclone Koji.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - the LNG, copper and steelmaking coal portfolios with stakes, capacities and production volumes, data centre capacity, the Thai and Indonesian automotive businesses, and Cermaq's salmon volumes. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedThe coal businesses earned ¥190.2 billion in the year to March 2024, when coking coal prices were high, and the partners chose to sell two mines in April 2024, taking the gain before prices fell.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2024 results presentation - the review of Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024, the Enhance programmes covering all 244 operating companies, capital recycling, and the credit ratings. — FY to March 2025 · publ. 2 May 2025 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe coal businesses earned ¥190.2 billion in the year to March 2024, when coking coal prices were high, and the partners chose to sell two mines in April 2024, taking the gain before prices fell.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - capital recycling and one-time items and adjusted consolidated net income. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026