RIO – Rio Tinto Shares Company Profile

Rio Tinto (RIO) is a major international resources company. The company has dual listings, as Rio Tinto Plc in London and Rio Tinto Ltd in Australia. RIO has major operations in Australia, North America, South Africa, Chile and many other countries, producing a wide range of commodities, including gold, copper, coal, iron ore, alumina, aluminum, mineral sands and diamonds. RIO’s major earnings drivers are iron ore and aluminum, representing 27% and 42%, respectively, of RIO’s FY08 earnings.

Rio Tinto Zinc and CRA have a long history of close association, with CRA being a subsidiary of RIO until 1986. The two companies unified through a dual listed structure in June 1997. The UK listed entity was renamed Rio Tinto plc and the Australian listed entity Rio Tinto Limited. In 2000-2002, RIO spent US$4B acquiring North Limited, Ashton Diamonds and 100% of Comalco. Since then, RIO has disposed of non-core assets worth a net US$2.5B.

Rio Tinto’s management is what distinguishes the company from other resource companies, and has amassed an impressive track record of profit and growth. This track record is partially a result of high-quality assets, with the majority of the core operations being very low cost, reliable and likely to make contributions for a long time. Rio Tinto’s management has also utilized new technology as well as innovative industrial relations practices and smart acquisition strategies, these have served to improve the operations and thus shareholder value.

Rio Tinto has a vast range of customers, from Asian iron ore and coal contracts with steel manufacturers and power stations particularly significant. Purchasers of metals obtain their supply from a wide range of mining companies, and Rio Tinto has a bigger position in copper than any other metal. Key competitors are BHP Billiton (BHP), CVRD, Anglo American and Alcoa.

General Information on RIO:

Company Name: Rio Tinto Limited
Stock Code: RIO
Website: www.riotinto.com
Market Cap ($M): 157,885
Equiv. Shares (M): 1,958

Market Statistics:

% of Market: 2.9600
% of Sector: 25.2582
Sector: Materials
Industry Group: Materials
Industry: Metals & Mining