Increased underlying earnings by 21 per cent to $5.1 billion. Underlying earnings per share rose to 276.8 US cents.
– Achieved $3.2 billion of sustainable operating cash cost improvements since 2012, exceeding the $3 billion reduction target six months ahead of schedule. Momentum in cost reductions is now expected to realise a further $1 billion of savings by the end of 2015. – Shipped record iron ore volumes, set production records for iron ore and thermal coal and delivered a strong operational performance in copper. – Increased cash flows from operations by eight per cent to $8.7 billion. – Reduced capital expenditure to $3.6 billion in the first half. 2014 capex is now expected to be around $9 billion, $2 billion below previous guidance, and around $8 billion each year from 2015. – Decreased net debt by $1.9 billion in the first half to $16.1 billion at 30 June 2014. This compares with $22.1 billion at 30 June 2013. Reduced adjusted total borrowings by $2.5 billion in the first half to $25.7 billion at 30 June 2014. – Achieved EBITDA of $1.1 billion in Aluminium, up 26 per cent on 2013 first half, despite London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices averaging nine per cent lower. – Increased interim dividend by 15 per cent to 96 US cents per share.
Quote:
Mr Lynch said Rio’s debt now sat within the target range of “mid-teens”, and he expected “good news” for shareholders in the New Year.
“We should be through the phase of reducing the net debt level, so basically what that says is whatever surplus is available is available for further returns to shareholders,” he says.
“There is good scope for the board to have some fairly good news there in the early New Year.”
In November 2013, Rio Tinto set out its breakthrough pathway to optimise the growth of mine capacity towards 360 Mt/a at a target all-in capital intensity of between $120-130 per tonne (100 per cent basis or low-US$100s a tonne Rio Tinto share), significantly lower than originally planned. A series of low-cost brownfield expansions will bring on additional tonnes to feed the expanded infrastructure. From a base run rate of 290 Mt/a in May 2014, annual mine production capacity is planned to increase by more than 60 million tonnes between 2014 and 2017. The majority of the low-cost growth will be delivered in the next two years, with mine production of more than 330 million tonnes (100 per cent basis) expected from the Pilbara in 2015.
Australian Property Forum is an economics and finance forum dedicated to discussion of Australian and global real estate markets and macroeconomics, including house prices, housing affordability, and the likelihood of a property crash. Is there an Australian housing bubble? Will house prices crash, boom or stagnate? Is the Australian property market a pyramid scheme or Ponzi scheme? Can house prices really rise forever? These are the questions we address on Australian Property Forum, the premier real estate site for property bears, bulls, investors, and speculators. Members may also discuss matters related to finance, modern monetary theory (MMT), debt deflation, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Ethereum and Ripple, property investing, landlords, tenants, debt consolidation, reverse home equity loans, the housing shortage, negative gearing, capital gains tax, land tax and macro prudential regulation.
Forum Rules:
The main forum may be used to discuss property, politics, economics and finance, precious metals, crypto currency, debt management, generational divides, climate change, sustainability, alternative energy, environmental topics, human rights or social justice issues, and other topics on a case by case basis. Topics unsuitable for the main forum may be discussed in the lounge. You agree you won't use this forum to post material that is illegal, private, defamatory, pornographic, excessively abusive or profane, threatening, or invasive of another forum member's privacy. Don't post NSFW content. Racist or ethnic slurs and homophobic comments aren't tolerated. Accusing forum members of serious crimes is not permitted. Accusations, attacks, abuse or threats, litigious or otherwise, directed against the forum or forum administrators aren't tolerated and will result in immediate suspension of your account for a number of days depending on the severity of the attack. No spamming or advertising in the main forum. Spamming includes repeating the same message over and over again within a short period of time. Don't post ALL CAPS thread titles. The Advertising and Promotion Subforum may be used to promote your Australian property related business or service. Active members of the forum who contribute regularly to main forum discussions may also include a link to their product or service in their signature block. Members are limited to one actively posting account each. A secondary account may be used solely for the purpose of maintaining a blog as long as that account no longer posts in threads. Any member who believes another member has violated these rules may report the offending post using the report button.
Australian Property Forum complies with ASIC Regulatory Guide 162 regarding Internet Discussion Sites. Australian Property Forum is not a provider of financial advice. Australian Property Forum does not in any way endorse the views and opinions of its members, nor does it vouch for for the accuracy or authenticity of their posts. It is not permitted for any Australian Property Forum member to post in the role of a licensed financial advisor or to post as the representative of a financial advisor. It is not permitted for Australian Property Forum members to ask for or offer specific buy, sell or hold recommendations on particular stocks, as a response to a request of this nature may be considered the provision of financial advice.
Views expressed on this forum are not representative of the forum owners. The forum owners are not liable or responsible for comments posted. Information posted does not constitute financial or legal advice. The forum owners accept no liability for information posted, nor for consequences of actions taken on the basis of that information. By visiting or using this forum, members and guests agree to be bound by the Zetaboards Terms of Use.
This site may contain copyright material (i.e. attributed snippets from online news reports), the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such content is posted to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, and social justice issues. This constitutes 'fair use' of such copyright material as provided for in section 107 of US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed for research and educational purposes only. If you wish to use this material for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Such material is credited to the true owner or licensee. We will remove from the forum any such material upon the request of the owners of the copyright of said material, as we claim no credit for such material.
Privacy Policy: Australian Property Forum uses third party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our site. These third party advertising companies may collect and use information about your visits to Australian Property Forum as well as other web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here: Google Advertising Privacy FAQ
Australian Property Forum is hosted by Zetaboards. Please refer also to the Zetaboards Privacy Policy