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$4.38 billion for the given period, increasing by 32.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. In the first half this year, Rio Tinto’s consolidated sales revenues amounted to US$19.9 billion, up three percent year on year.
Rio Tinto's net profit from its iron ore unit in the first half amounted to US$3.22 billion, down one percent year on year, while the unit’s EBITDA totaled US$5.65 billion, one percent higher than the same period of 2017, with a nine percent increase in shipments, together with cash cost savings and productivity improvements fully offsetting the US$542 million impact of lower prices.
Rio Tinto expects its Pilbara iron ore shipments in the current year to be at the upper end of the existing guidance range of 330 million mt to 340 million mt.