Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto has announced its financial results for 2011, registering record underlying earnings despite the prevailing uncertainty in the markets throughout the year.
Rio Tinto posted a net profit of US$5.8 billion in 2011, down 58 percent compared to the net profit of US$14.23 billion in 2010. The company's consolidated sales revenues increased slightly to US$60.53 billion compared to 2010. Rio Tinto's underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at a record high of US$28.52 billion in 2011were 10 percent over the US$25.98 billion registered in 2010. The company's net debt increased from $4.1 billion at the end of 2010 to $8.5 billion at the end of 2011.
The group said that its capital expenditure for 2012 on approved projects and sustaining capital is expected to be approximately $16 billion.
According to Rio Tinto's statement, its expansion project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to increase capacity to 283 million mt per year by 2013 is on track. The capacity expansion to 353 million mt per year is expected to be reached in the first half of 2015, six months earlier than previously planned.