Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are under pressure on Thursday morning.
At the time of writing, the mining giant's shares are down 3% to $112.01.
Rio Tinto shares fall on results
Investors have been selling the miner's shares this morning after responding negatively to the release of its half year results after the market close on Wednesday.
In case you missed it, Rio Tinto reported a 16% drop in its underlying earnings compared to the prior corresponding period to US$4.8 billion.
This profit decline was due almost entirely to its Iron Ore operations, which posted a 24% decline in EBITDA to US$6.7 billion for the first half. This was due to weaker iron ore prices and the impact of cyclones.
Also underperforming was its Minerals segment, which includes its lithium operations. It recorded a 58% decline in EBITDA to US$300 million.
This offset a 50% jump in Aluminium EBITDA to US$2.4 billion and an even more impressive 69% increase in Copper EBITDA to US$3.1 billion.
Commenting on the company's performance during the half, chief executive Jakob Stausholm said:
We are delivering very resilient financial results with an improving operational performance helped by our increasingly diversified portfolio.
Underlying EBITDA of $11.5 billion and operating cash flow of $6.9 billion, despite a 13% lower iron ore price, demonstrate the growing contribution from our Aluminium and Copper businesses and our Pilbara operations' strong recovery from the four cyclones in the first quarter. We are reporting underlying earnings of $4.8 billion (after taxes and government royalties of $4.8 billion).
Dividend cut
Falling by an even greater margin than earnings was the miner's free cash flow. It came in 31% lower than the prior corresponding period to US$1.96 billion.
In light of this, the Rio Tinto board was forced to cut its fully franked interim dividend by 16% to US$1.48 per share. This is the smallest interim dividend that the miner has paid since back in 2018.
Rio Tinto's shares will go ex-dividend for this on 15 August. After which, eligible shareholders can look forward to pay day the following month on 25 September.
Outlook
Also potentially weighing on Rio Tinto's shares today has been its guidance for FY 2025.
Although the company has reaffirmed its expectations for the year ahead, it now expects iron ore shipments to be at the low end of its guidance range. It advised:
Pilbara shipments are expected to be at the lower end of guidance, due to four cyclones as announced in Q1. Pilbara iron ore guidance remains subject to the timing of approvals for planned mining areas and heritage clearances. The system has limited ability to mitigate further losses from weather if incurred.
Some good news is that its copper production is now expected to be at the high end of its guidance range. This is due to its continued successful ramp-up of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine and a good performance at Escondida.
Rio Tinto shares are down around 5% since the start of the year.
