America as a colony was a weird one as it was largely settled by political refugees in the initial stage (canada was the same settlement) and then lobbied for protection. The only real money to be made from a British perspective was with the native's and their fur trade but the American settlers were just liabilities in that regard as they absolutely refused to stick to any treaties. That and the slave trade of course which also began to loose money after a while as well as being politically unpopular not to mention it made the Scottish richer and more influential which isn't always what the English want

Australia was a penal colony ultimately focused on revenue

south africa I don't know as much about but my understanding is there was some intention to make loads of money off precious metals and ivory