Anglo-Australian mining giant
Rio Tinto has announced a 43 percent jump in full-year net profit to a record $7.44 and also forecast continued strong demand for commodities.
The figure was slightly higher than market forecasts for $7.4 billion, while it marked a significant gain on the $5.22 billion net profit recorded in 2005.
Rio Tinto chairman Paul Skinner said the global economy was likely to slow in 2007 but demand for commodities would remain strong, particularly from
China.