Share Price Reaction
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) shares jumped 4.8% to A$167.11 in Sydney, marking the highest price since July 7 and outpacing the S&P/ASX 200, which rose 1% on the day.
Financial Performance
The miner reported a first‑half net profit of $6.66 billion, a 47% increase year‑on‑year and the strongest half‑year result since 2022. Underlying earnings rose 43% to $6.85 billion, surpassing the S&P Global Visible Alpha consensus of $6.61 billion. Underlying EBITDA climbed 28% to $14.83 billion, supported by higher realised prices for iron ore, copper, aluminium and lithium, as well as stronger production volumes.
Dividend and Guidance
Rio Tinto declared an interim dividend of $2.11 per share, up from $1.48 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of $2.03 per share. Chief Executive Simon Trott highlighted that the company has already delivered $870 million in productivity gains and remains on track to achieve an annualised run‑rate of $1.8 billion by year‑end. Trott also reaffirmed the company’s plan to announce approximately $5 billion of asset divestments by the end of 2026.
Operational Highlights and Market Outlook
The company noted a 3% rise in copper‑equivalent production during the first half, reflecting higher copper output, increased lithium production and robust iron ore sales. Trott pointed to structural demand from artificial‑intelligence‑driven data‑centre expansion as a long‑term growth catalyst, expecting that accelerated investment in hyperscale data centres will boost consumption of copper, steel, aluminium and lithium.