Rio Tinto Surges on Strong Copper and Aluminium Performance
Rio Tinto reported its highest half-year underlying earnings in four years as copper and aluminium performance outshone iron ore profits. The world's largest iron ore miner derived around 56% of its profit from these metals, boosted by growing demand for electrification and AI megatrends.
The company's underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) surged 84% to $5.7 billion for its copper division, while iron ore generated underlying EBITDA of $6.8 billion, down 1% from a year earlier.
Rio Tinto's CEO Simon Trott attributed the strong performance to higher commodity prices and rising copper output, as well as productivity gains across the business. He said that the miner was on track to achieve half of its target of unlocking $5 billion to $10 billion in cash through portfolio management and infrastructure initiatives by the end of the year.