Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto has announced its financial results for 2019, posting an underlying profit of $10.4 billion for the given year, rising by 18 percent compared to the previous year, recording its highest earnings since 2011. In 2019, the company’s consolidated sales revenues increased by seven percent compared to 2018 to $43.2 billion, due to higher iron ore prices.
Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques said that the company invested $2.6 billion in development projects, including high-return iron ore and copper. Jacques also stated that the company is closely keeping up with the latest situation regarding the impact of the coronavirus and that they are prepared for the short-term impacts which could result in supply-chain problems. Additionally, he said that they have not had any difficulty in their shipments for now.
Rio Tinto's net profit from its iron ore unit in the given year amounted to $9.64 billion, rising by 48 percent year on year, reflecting the 30 percent increase in iron ore prices.
Rio Tinto, which is targeting zero emissions from its operations by 2050, will make almost $1 billion of climate-related investments over the next five years.