Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto has announced its financial results for the first half of the current year, posting a net profit of US$806 million for the given period, down 82 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The company's net debt increased by 10 percent year on year to $13.7 billion as of June 30, 2015.
Rio Tinto's net profit from its iron ore unit in the first half amounted to US$2.09 billion, down 55 percent year on year, driven by the impact of lower prices, which were down 46 percent on average. Rio Tinto's gross revenues for its iron ore unit were 40 percent lower year on year at US$7 billion in the given period.
Due to the weather disruption in the first half of 2015, anticipated shipments were reduced by around seven million mt. Accordingly, Rio Tinto has revised its expectations for 2015 global shipments to 340 million mt from its operations in Australia and Canada.