Giant miner, Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), has today reported its full year results.
From all indications, the predominantly iron ore miner has beaten analysts' expectations on several measures.
Here's a rundown on the top ten key facts.
- US$1.92 – dividend for the full year, and ahead of expectations of US$1.81.
- 15% – increase in full year dividend compared to 2012.
- US$10.2 billion – underlying net profit after tax, again ahead of expectations of US$9.7 billion.
- US$20.1 billion – operating cash flow, and like Telstra Corporation (ASX: TLS) earlier today, close to double its reported profit.
- US$5.53 – underlying earnings per share ($6.14 in Australian dollars), giving Rio a P/E ratio of 11.0 times, at the current price of A$67.83.
- US$2.3 billion – operating cash cost improvements and ahead of the US$2 billion target set last year.
- 7,300 – the number of employees that left Rio last year. That's a net 4,000 headcount reduction and a further 3,300 employees left the group through divested businesses.
- US$3.4 billion – total writedowns, including a US$1.6 billion impairment of assets of Turquoise Hill, US$1.3 billion on aluminium assets including the Gove alumina refinery, and US$470 million on Rio's coal assets in Mozambique.
- 26% – the fall in capital expenditure as Rio concentrates on its core mining operations. Capex fell from US$17.6 billion to US$12.9 billion.
- 0 – the number of analysts who have ever had a Sell recommendation on Rio.
Ok, I may have made that last one up, but you must admit, it's hard to find even one investment bank analyst who has taken a dim view of Rio's future. And that's despite the company's almost total reliance on iron ore production, and analyst predictions of a lower iron ore price in future.
