Rio Tinto is a world leader in finding, mining and processing the earths mineral resources. The Groups worldwide operations supply essential minerals and metals that help to meet global needs and contribute to improvements in living standards. Rio Tinto encourages strong local identities and has a devolved management philosophy, entrusting responsibility with accountability to the workplace. Major products include aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy products (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc and zircon), and iron ore. The Groups activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa. Rio Tinto comprises wholly owned subsidiaries (such as Borax, Comalco, Hamersley, Rio Tinto Coal Australia, Kennecott and Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium), partly owned subsidiaries (Coal & Allied and Palabora) and non-managed, (Escondida) and joint ventures (Grasberg) in which public shareholders, other companies or governments are partners.

            Red = 25 day moving average.           Green = 200 day moving average.

SALES PER ACTIVITY (Data as of 31/12/2005)

Iron:        29%
Coal:       19%
Copper     18%
Aluminum: 14.5%
Minerals:  12.5%
:              6%
Misc:        1%

Just 9 billion then!

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mnamreh - 17 Jan 2013 08:40 - 267 of 267 That's TANKER'S age adjusted IQ.

What a coincidence.

Sounds like they were duped or blind (advisers need their bonuses too). Bit like the Autonomy/HP goings-on only with someone doing the decent thing.

Maybe clearing the decks for a clean start for new FY.

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I missed that - obviously too slow!

Albanese will remain on the company payroll until July, but won't receive a performance bonus for 2012 or 2013. He also forfeits his 2013 long-term share award.

quite right too, and there's a bundle of other companies - e.g. uk banks, bbc etc - who should take note and act similarly when the chief honcho or similar cocks up

The Sunday Telegraph


Mining giant Rio Tinto posted its first ever full-year loss after writing down 14.4 billion US dollars (£9.2 billion) of its assets following an acquisition spree.

The mammoth writedowns led to last month's departure of Tom Albanese, Rio's chief executive since 2007, who carried the can for the ill-fated acquisitions of aluminium group Alcan and a coal business in Mozambique.


Impairment charges, mainly relating to the two deals, meant Rio last week recorded losses of three billion US dollars (£1.9 billion).


New boss Sam Walsh pledged an "unrelenting focus" on improving shareholder returns, driven by cost savings of more than five billion US dollars (£3.2 billion) by the end of next year and greater discipline on capital spending.


Mr Walsh, who used to run the company's iron ore operations, said Rio's strategy of operating large, long-life, low-cost mines in the most favourable industry sectors was the right one.


Rio's shares suffered last year as commodity prices slumped.
The company made 90% of its net earnings last year from iron ore operations and its exposure to the steel-making ingredient will further increase when the group's 290 million-tonne expansion in the Pilbara region of Western Australia comes on stream during the fourth quarter.


However, prices are buoyant and Rio is a low-cost producer.
Shares have recently risen amid the wider market rally, but at 3733.5p there is more upside to come and investors are advised to buy.


Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-2280016/Sunday-newspaper-share-tips-Greencoat--Rio-Tinto.html#ixzz2LC1c0fth
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keep an eye on this quality heavyweight
it'll certainly be a beneficiary of any sustained demand for hard commodities, thought it can be a bit of a scary ride

Jefferies note today:
"Impressive operating results: Rio’s full year 2013 underlying EPS increased 10%, from $5.01 in 2012 to $5.53 in 2013, and was significantly ahead of consensus. Rio’s full year underlying EBITDA increased from $19.2bn in 2012 to almost $21.5bn in 2013, and the company’s cash flow from operations increased from $16.5bn to $20.1bn, up 22% y/y. Rio is clearly delivering operationally and is recapturing its pre-Alcan position as arguably the highest quality mining company in the world. We expect further earnings growth for Rio in the years ahead as the company’s organic volume growth and unit cost reductions more than offset the headwind of a declining iron ore price. On our estimates, Rio’s EPS will increase from $5.53 in 2013 to $6.55 in 2016 even as the benchmark iron ore fines spot price declines from $135 to $90 per tonne over this period. Note that the company’s underlying EPS increased from $2.29 in 1H13 to $3.24 in 2H13 even though the iron ore fines price fell from $137/t on average in 1H to $134/t in 2H.
Huge capex reduction with further to go: Rio’s reported 2013 capex of $12.9bn was 26% below the company’s 2012 capex spend of $17.5bn. Management continues to guide to 2014 capex of $11bn and 2015 capex of $8bn. This capex reduction combined with further earnings growth should lead to strong growth in Rio’s free cash flow. We expect Rio’s free cash flow yield to increase to approximately 13% by 2016.
Deleveraging in progress: The combination of stronger-than-expected operating cash flow and a significant decline in capex resulted in substantial deleveraging for Rio as the company’s net debt fell from $22.1bn at 30 June 2013 to $18.1bn at 31 December. While debt reduction continues to be a priority for Rio, the company now has one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, with net debt/LTM EBITDA of 0.86x and net debt/ forward EBITDA of just 0.76x. Our understanding is that Rio is targeting a net debt level of approximately $15bn, which the company should reach in early 2015.
Dividends for now, dividends + buybacks for 2015: As we expected, Rio announced a 15% increase in its full year dividend, from $1.67 in 2012 to $1.92 in 2013. This dividend increase was in line with our forecast, but our forecast was the top of the consensus range. We expect further dividend growth from Rio in the years ahead, and we expect the company to announce a $3-5bn share buyback programme when it reports full year 2014 results next February as its deleveraging process should be nearly complete by then.
Rio continues to be our top pick: In light of its strong balance sheet, significant organic volume growth, ongoing unit cost reductions, bottom of the cost curve iron ore business, conservative management, low operating risk, low geopolitical risk, and discount equity valuation (trading at 9.1x 2014E earnings and 5.3x 2014E EBITDA versus the sector averages of 11.2x and 6.0x, respectively), Rio continues to be our top pick in the sector."

Finally some good news and new recent highs. Encouraging Jefferies note. Divi surprised most and bodes well for the future.

Going great guns today - and Deutsche out with comment about possible buyback and target price of 4650p

(Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) rejected a merger approach from smaller rival Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) to create a $160 billion (99.74 billion pounds) mining and trading giant in August just as the price of its most profitable product, iron ore, slid towards a five-year low.

The miner said on Tuesday Glencore had contacted it about a potential merger in July, adding that it turned Glencore down in August and there had been no further contact between the companies on a deal.

A merger would have created the world's biggest miner, supplanting BHP Billiton (BHP.AX).

"The Rio Tinto board, after consultation with its financial and legal advisers, concluded unanimously that a combination was not in the best interests of Rio Tinto's shareholders," Rio Tinto said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

given RIO's immediate and outright rejection of any merger, i am very surprised to see the surge in sp being sustained

despite my own support for this stock about a year ago, i am currently staying well away from any hard commodity producers ..... that said, there will certainly come (another) time, when the cycle will turn once more

I, too, think now may not be the right time to chase miners. I think when the
time comes, BLT may be the one to give the lead.

Some comments here about the RIO story.

More

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StockMarketWire.com
Mining titan Rio Tinto has booked FY underlying earnings of $6.53bn, up 78% from $3.67bn. Underlying earnings totalled $9.31bn, down 9% from $10.22bn. Its ordinary dividend per share was 215 cents, up 12% from 192 cents a year ago.

Looking into 2015, Rio said it would retain a tight capital discipline with a focus on cash generation and sustainable returns. It anticipated further cash cost improvements of $750m to be realised 2015, and said capex was expected to decline to less than $7.0bn in 2015 and remain at around $7.0bn in 2016 and 2017.

CEO Sam Walsh said the company had delivered on its commitment to materially hike cash returns to shareholders, which it had delivered via the improved dividend and a proposed $2.0bn share buy-back.

"These represent a total cash return to shareholders, in respect of 2014, of almost $6.0 billion," the company said.

"Our continued financial and operating discipline enabled us to offset much of the impact of lower commodity prices in 2014," Walsh said in a statement.

"By increasing volumes and reducing costs, we achieved underlying earnings of $9.3 billion and we were able to maintain our EBITDA margin2 at 39 per cent. Free cash flow was assisted by a further reduction in capital expenditure3 and a successful programme to release working capital. As a consequence, we have reduced net debt4 by $5.6 billion to $12.5 billion.

"I would like to thank our 62,000 colleagues for their contribution to these excellent results. Decisive early action throughout the Group delivered the strong balance sheet, which enables us to announce today's additional material cash return to shareholders.

"With lower commodity prices and uncertain global economic trends, the operating environment remains tough. However, in these conditions Rio Tinto's qualities and competitive advantages deliver superior value.

"Our combination of world-class assets, disciplined capital allocation, balance sheet strength, operating and commercial excellence, and a culture of safety and integrity gives me confidence in our ability to continue to generate sustainable returns for our shareholders."

Revenues and earnings:
- Consolidated sales revenues of $47.7 billion, as a $5.4 billion (pre-tax) decline in pricing was partially offset by $3.0 billion from higher volumes.

- EBITDA margin at 39 per cent, unchanged from 2013, with volume gains and cost improvements offsetting the impact of lower prices.

- Achieved underlying earnings of $9.3 billion, nine per cent lower than 2013 despite the $4.1 billion (post-tax) impact of lower prices.

- Underlying earnings per share were 503.4 US cents.

- Net earnings of $6.5 billion reflect non-cash exchange rate losses of $1.9 billion, a $0.4 billion charge following the repeal of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) and other charges of $0.5 billion. An impairment charge of $1.2 billion mainly related to the Kitimat project as reported at the half year was mostly offset by a reversal of $1.0 billion in the second half of 2014 related to an uplift in carrying value for the Pacific Aluminium business.

Production:
- Set production records for iron ore and Hunter Valley thermal coal, and delivered a strong operational performance in bauxite, copper and aluminium.

CitiBank summary:
"RIO Downgrade to Neutral — RIO’s net debt rises ~US$1b in 2015, before completion of remaining US$1.4b on-market buyback. As with BHP, the key question is whether a yield of greater than 5% is enough to offset iron ore price headwind and lack of cash flow generation. We downgrade RIO to Neutral, previously Buy."

StockMarketWire.com
Rio Tinto is preparing its first shipments of metal from its Kitimat aluminium smelter, Canada, following an extensive modernisation of the facility.

The modernisation of the aluminium smelter will increase production capacity by 48 per cent and result in Kitimat becoming one of the lowest cost smelters in the world. Rio is now focused on safely ramping up towards its annual production rate of 420,000 tonnes.

The modernised smelter, which was delivered in line with the revised schedule and budget, is powered exclusively by Rio's wholly owned hydro power facility and uses the company's proprietary AP40 smelting technology which will effectively halve the smelter's overall emissions.

Credit Suisse note:
"RIO TINTO (NEUTRAL, TP £25): Target price lowered to £25 from £28. It is tempting to be relatively positive on the outlook for RIO given its strong balance sheet, dividend yield (6%), on-going buyback program, well regarded management team and an enviable iron ore business. However looking ahead the commodity mix remains a concern with the two largest businesses, iron ore and aluminium, both continuing to exhibit supply characteristics that have the potential to overwhelm demand. We remain bearish on the outlook for both iron ore ($45/t in 2016 and 2017) and aluminium prices, and this contributes to the high 2016 PE (23x). With relatively strong but declining earnings profile, little chance of a dividend cut and a real possibility of extending the buyback program in 2016 (coal asset sale would help, book value $3bn) we see Rio as a defensive option within the mining space. Catalyst: Possible sale of coal business, continuing pressure on iron ore prices, capex approvals (bauxite) in Q4. We set our target price at a PE of 20x 2017 earnings and 6.5% dividend yield. On our 2016 earnings, Rio generates $2.5bn of FCF and has a dividend commitment $3.9bn for a near $1.5bn increase in net debt assuming no further asset sales."