
Rio Tinto has announced yet another strong set of results in H1 2018 with an underlying EBITDA of US$9.2 billion and operating cash flow of US$5.2 billion for the entire group of companies, followed by declaring its superior returns of US$7.2 billion to shareholders comprising of US$3.2 billion from operations and US$4 billion from asset disposals.

The Aluminium group’s underlying EBITDA in H1 2018 stood at US$1, 831 million, up 10 per cent from H1 2017, primarily driven by stronger pricing. Net cash flow from operating activities increased as well by 1 per cent to stand at US$ 1.1 million, while capital expenditure grew by 76 per cent to stand at US$ 8,06,000, as construction at Amrun accelerated in H1 2018.
However, the company’s total aluminium production plunged a little in H1 2018 at 1.7 million tonnes, down 4 per cent from H1 2017. Gross sales revenue increased, on the other hand, from US$5.3 million, as in H1 2017, to US$6.1 million in H1 2018.

LME aluminium price of the Aluminium group’s averaged at $2,209 per tonne in H1 2018, 18 per cent up from H1 2017, while that of the group averaged at US$2,547 per tonne.
Central to the aluminium group’s performance has been the continuous drive to creep the capacity of its assets through productivity at minimal cost, to enhance margin, while always maintaining a focus on value over volume.
Alumina production in 2018 first half plunged by 2 per cent from 4 million tonnes to 3.98 million tonnes, however, with an overall consistent performance across all the refineries. There was a continued focus on productivity enhancements throughout the operations, with these actions, together with higher realised prices, driving the Alumina business to achieve underlying EBITDA of $435 million, an increase of 72 per cent in 2017 first half.
The $1.9 billion Amrun bauxite project on the Cape York Peninsula in north Queensland is advancing to plan. The stacker and reclaimer have been transported to site following completion of fabrication, whilst the shiploader assembly is also nearing completion. The project remains on schedule for first shipment in the first half of 2019.
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