Rio Tinto misses its annual profit forecast on iron ore challenges
Rio Tinto missed its expectations for the annual underlying profit on Thursday as lower iron ore prices, amidst rising global supply, weighed down on its core business. However, stronger copper prices and production limited the impact.
The world's biggest iron ore producer recently abandoned merger discussions with Glencore. It reported underlying earnings for the year ended December 31, which was unchanged from a previous year and below the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $11.03billion.
Pilbara iron-ore shipments fell 1%, and prices realised dropped about 8% compared to a year ago. This was due to a 'China property slump that kept the steel market soft.
About 60% of the group's earnings came from iron ore, down from 70% one year ago, and copper contributed almost 30%.
The results show that miners are pushing to increase their exposure to copper. Copper is a key metal in the energy transition. This week, copper surpassed iron ore for the first-time in BHP's earnings.
Copper prices rose 8% on average in 2025. Production grew 11%, as underground production increased at the Oyu Tolgoi Mine in Mongolia.
Rio declared a dividend of 254 per share. This is an increase from the 225 Rio paid in 2024.
(source: Reuters)
