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Highlights 

  • Rio Tinto PLC (LSE: RIO) marked 3% growth in the Pilbara Iron Ore production at 83.5 Mt for Q3 FY23, versus Q2 FY23.
  • During H1 FY23, the company’s EBITDA margin was recorded at 41.2% versus the industry median of 19.4%.
  • RIO’s capital expenditure on decarbonization projects stood at USD 95 million, while the company was expecting an expenditure amount of USD 100 million.

FTSE 100 index-listed Rio Tinto PLC (LSE: RIO) is involved in mining and processing mineral resources. Its operations are spread across segments of Iron Ore, Aluminium, Diamonds, Copper, Energy & Minerals, and others.

For the third quarter of the fiscal year 2023, Rio Tinto marked 3% growth in the Pilbara Iron Ore production at 83.5 Mt, versus the second quarter of the year.

The company secured over 6% surge in the Pilbara iron ore shipments at 83.9 Mt in Q3 FY23, as compared to Q2 FY23.

 In H1 FY23, the company’s EBITDA margin was recorded at 41.2% versus the industry median of 19.4%. RIO’s operating margin jumped to 27.2% in H1 FY23 against the industry median of 12.4%. For the reporting period, net margin of the company rose to 18.5% in H1 FY23, as compared to  industry median of 6.3%.

The company’s ESG parameters also saw a significant improvement in H1 FY23. Its Scope of 1 & 2 emissions were recorded at 15.4 Mt CO2 versus 15.5 Mt in the previous corresponding period. It was registered at 30.3 Mt in fiscal year 2022. Notably, RIO’s capital expenditure on decarbonization projects stood at USD 95 million, while the company was expecting an expenditure amount of USD 100 million.

For the reporting period, the company saw 33.4% drop in its cash generated from operations. This was primarily because of lower sales of USD 15,600 million from iron ore in H1 FY23, against GBP 16,610 million in pcp. Also, the company’s sales from copper and minerals reduced in H1 FY23.

According to the company estimates, the Pilbara iron ore unit cash cost ranges from USD 21.0 to 22.5 per wet metric tonne, while the copper C1 unit cost is likely to be between USD 180 to USD 200 per lb. For the full year FY23, it is likely that the mined copper production will fall between 590 kt to 640 kt, and the Aluminium production would be between 3.1 Mt and 3.3 Mt.

Top ten shareholders

Approximately 40.80% of the total shareholdings in the firm is held by its top ten shareholders. While Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd owns the maximum number of shares with around 14.59% shareholding, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. holds 10.21% shareholding.

Stock Price Performance

RIO’s stock price has increased 2.07% in the last three months. It’s 52-week high and low price stand at GBX 6,406.00 and GBX 4,424.50, respectively.

Note 1: Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Note 2: The reference data for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance levels is 17 October 2023. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from EODHD/Others.