Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto has announced its financial results for 2015, posting a net loss of $866 million in the given year, compared to a net profit of $6.52 billion in 2014. In 2015, Rio Tinto’s consolidated sales revenues decreased by $12.8 billion to $34.8 billion compared to 2014, reflecting a $13.1 billion reduction from the sharp decline in commodity prices.
Rio Tinto's net profit from its iron ore unit in 2015 amounted to $3.95 billion, down 51 percent year on year. Rio Tinto's underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for its iron ore unit were 44.7 percent lower year on year at $7.87 billion in the given year.
In 2015, Rio Tinto's iron ore sales amounted to 336.6 million mt, up 11 percent year on year. Sales of iron ore from the Pilbara region in 2015 exceeded production by around nine million mt, primarily due to the drawdown of stockpiled iron ore inventory built up at the mines during the infrastructure expansion phase. Bulk inventories are now largely exhausted. In 2015, Rio Tinto's Pilbara mines produced 327.6 million mt of iron ore, rising 11 percent compared to 2014.