Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our business
We operate in 35 countries where our 60,000 employees are working to find better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our purpose in action
Continuous improvement and innovation are part of our DNA
Innovation
The need for innovation is greater than ever
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
The primary raw material used to make steel, which is strong, long-lasting and cost-efficient
Lithium
The lightest of all metals, it is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies
Copper
Tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Oyu Tolgoi
One of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations in the world
Rincon Project
A long-life, low-cost and low-carbon lithium source
Simandou Project
The world’s largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit
Providing materials the world needs in a responsible way
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Nature solutions
Our nature-based solutions projects complement the work we're doing to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Enabling ESG transparency
Our START™ initiative tracks traceability and responsible production of Rio Tinto materials.
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Reports 2024
Download our 2024 suite of reports, including our 2024 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, detailing $8.4 billion of taxes and royalties paid globally during the year
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Things You Can't Live Without
Our podcast discussing what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on
Refuelling the mining industry
How can we power the world’s biggest machines with new fuel solutions?
Forging a low-carbon future
How we're working to decarbonise iron ore and steel
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates and students
If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
Empowering families with flexibility
Supporting new parents of any gender with equal access to parental leave
Available jobs
Join our team
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO) (ASX:RIO):
* On a Free on Board (FOB) basis.
Year ended 31 December
2024
2023
Change
Net cash generated from operating activities (US$ millions)
15,599
15,160
3%
Purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (US$ millions)
9,621
7,086
36%
Free cash flow¹ (US$ millions)
5,553
7,657
(27)%
Consolidated sales revenue (US$ millions)
53,658
54,041
(1)%
Underlying EBITDA¹ (US$ millions)
23,314
23,892
(2)%
Profit after tax attributable to owners of Rio Tinto (net earnings) (US$ millions)
11,552
10,058
15%
Underlying earnings per share (EPS)¹ (US cents)
669.5
725.0
(8)%
Ordinary dividend per share (US cents)
402.0
435.0
Underlying return on capital employed (ROCE)¹
18%
20%
At 31 Dec 2024
At 31 Dec 2023
Net debt¹ (US$ millions)
5,491
4,231
30%
1 This financial performance indicator is a non-IFRS (as defined below) measure which is reconciled to directly comparable IFRS financial measures (non-IFRS measures). It is used internally by management to assess the performance of the business and is therefore considered relevant to readers of this document. It is presented here to give more clarity around the underlying business performance of the Group’s operations. For more information on our use of non-IFRS financial measures in this report, see the section entitled “Alternative performance measures” (APMs) and the detailed reconciliations on pages 37 to 46. Our financial results are prepared in accordance with IFRS — see page 32 for further information.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: "We continue to build on our momentum with another set of strong operational and financial results. With underlying EBITDA of $23.3 billion and operating cash flow of $15.6 billion, we are increasing our investments to underpin our plans for a decade of profitable growth. We are reporting underlying earnings of $10.9 billion, after taxes and government royalties of $8.2 billion, and a healthy return on capital employed of 18%.
"Our strong balance sheet enables us to pay a $6.5 billion ordinary dividend, maintaining our practice of a 60% payout, the ninth consecutive year at the top end of our payout range, as we continue to invest with discipline.
"We are excited as we head into 2025, with all the building blocks for an incredibly successful, diversified and growing business in place including the expected closing of the Arcadium acquisition in March. We will remain disciplined in the short, medium and long term, while paying attractive returns to shareholders."
Safety is our top priority. Tragically, there were 5 fatalities in our business in 2024. On 23 January 2024, a plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada, resulting in the loss of 4 Diavik team members and 2 airline crew. On 26 October 2024, an employee of one of our contractors was injured at the SimFer Port Project in Morebaya, part of the Simandou project in Guinea, and subsequently passed away from his injuries.
Our team is committed to learning how we continuously improve safety. This remains imperative throughout 2025 and underpins our ability to deliver on our four objectives.
Prioritising the health of our people, our ore body knowledge and the health of our assets, we have improved our operational performance and delivered strong financial results. We have maintained our financial strength, which allows us to invest for the future to deliver profitable growth, while also continuing to pay attractive returns.
Continued successful delivery in 2024: accelerating growth in 2025 and beyond
As part of our focus on Best Operator, we aim to safely and sustainably realise the full value of our assets, through our Safe Production System (SPS). Our operational performance is improving: in 2024, we delivered over 1% production growth and a 3% increase in sales volumes, both on a copper equivalent basis (based on long-term consensus pricing), and by the end of the year we had commenced deployment of SPS at 31 (~80%) of our sites. Just one outcome of the program is the achievement of a 5 million tonne production uplift for Pilbara Iron Ore in 2024 for the second consecutive year.
In line with our Excel in Development objective, we are growing and diversifying our portfolio, as we build a pipeline for the future:
Aligned with striving for impeccable ESG credentials, the low-carbon transition continues to be at the heart of our strategy. In 2024, our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, on an equity basis, were 30.7Mt CO2e (33.9Mt4 adjusted emissions in 2023), 14% below our 2018 baseline of 35.7Mt CO2e4.
In 2024, we reduced our emissions by 3.2Mt CO2e, primarily through new renewable energy contracts. We also made commitments to projects that are expected to deliver abatement of around 3.6Mt per year in 2030, mostly through renewable electricity and biofuels. Significant progress on the repowering of our Gladstone assets was made when we announced two major renewable Power Purchase Agreements in early 2024, one for solar and one for wind.
We are also supporting our customers and suppliers in reducing emissions from our value chain, particularly those from steelmaking. We continued to advance the development of BioIron™, an innovative ironmaking process. When combined with the use of renewable energy and fast-growing biomass, this has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 95% compared with the current blast furnace method. We are investing $143 million to build a research and development facility in Western Australia, scheduled for commissioning in 2026, with a pilot plant 10 times larger than its predecessor.
For further detail, please refer to the climate section of our 2024 Annual Report released today.
In 2024, we strengthened our social performance capacity to become a better operator and partner. Together with Voconiq, a third-party engagement science research company, we launched our global Community Perception Monitoring program, Local Voices. The program will help us to engage more effectively and better understand communities’ perceptions, leading to improved data-driven decisions.
In 2024, we completed one of the final recommendations of the Everyday Respect report; publishing an independent progress review conducted by Elizabeth Broderick & Co. Change is happening: one of the findings indicates people are more empowered to speak up and Everyday Respect is now widely considered a normal conversation within the company, which is a critical step for culture change.
Developing our talent and diversity, we increased gender diversity to 25.2% (from 24.3% in 2023). The increases were distributed across all levels of the organisation with female senior leaders increasing to 32% (from 30.1% in 2023).
Footnotes
The 2024 full year results release is available here
This announcement is authorised for release to the market by Rio Tinto’s Group Company Secretary.
LEI: 213800YOEO5OQ72G2R82
Classification: 3.1 Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250219937612/en/
Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com
Media Relations, United Kingdom David Outhwaite M +44 7787 597 493
Media Relations, Australia Matt Chambers M +61 433 525 739 Michelle Lee M +61 458 609 322 Rachel Pupazzoni M +61 438 875 469
Media Relations, Canada Malika Cherry M +1 418 592 7293 Vanessa Damha M +1 514 715 2152
Media Relations, US Jesse Riseborough M +1 202 394 9480
Investor Relations, United Kingdom Rachel Arellano M: +44 7584 609 644 David Ovington M +44 7920 010 978 Laura Brooks M +44 7826 942 797 Weiwei Hu M +44 7825 907 230
Investor Relations, Australia Tom Gallop M +61 439 353 948 Amar Jambaa M +61 472 865 948
Rio Tinto plc 6 St James’s Square London SW1Y 4AD United Kingdom T +44 20 7781 2000 Registered in England No. 719885
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Source: Rio Tinto