CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Rio Tinto posts 11% drop in annual profit
(Correct paragraph 4 to say dividend was higher than 2022, not lower)
Feb 21 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto reported an 11% drop in full-year underlying earnings on Wednesday, as lower contributions from its aluminium business amid weaker prices countered production gains at the iron ore segment.
Average prices Rio Tinto received for aluminium sold slipped over 2023 from COVID-era peaks, as supply chains normalised and demand from Western markets weakened. This offset a boost from production growth across major commodities.
The world's largest iron ore producer said its underlying earnings came in at $11.8 billion for 2023, compared with $13.28 billion reported a year earlier. That was largely in line with LSEG estimate of $11.70 billion.
It declared a final dividend of 258.0 cents per share, higher than 225.0 cents per share in fiscal 2022. (Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
