Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd
(ASX:RIO) has posted a 65 per cent drop in net profit for the first half.
Net earnings for the six months to June 30 came to $2.5 billion, down from $6.9 billion recorded in the first half of 2008.
Underlying earnings fell 54 per cent to $2.6 billion from $5.5 billion the year before.
As a result of the miner’s recent rights issue, the company has reduced its net debt by $14.8 billion.
Net capital expenditure fell 22 per cent to $2.8 billion; Rio forecast capital expenditure to be approximately $5 billion in 2009.
Rio confirmed it would not pay an interim dividend but says it expects to make a 2009 final dividend payment.
Chairman Jan du Plessis says the company expects that the total cash dividend for the 2010 financial year will be at least equal to the total cash dividend payment for 2008 of $1.75 billion.
CEO Tom Albanese says Rio’s Pilbara iron ore operations set a new quarterly record in the second quarter of this year, consistently operating at a run rate exceeding 200 million tonnes per annum. Rio Tinto’s 2008 net profit was US$3.7 billion a big drop from the previous year.
Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) has reported earnings of around $1.1 billion for the June quarter, inline with its performance in the prior quarter.
The bank says total lending for the quarter rose 1.3 per cent, with particularly good growth in Australian mortgages.
Bad debt charges increased six per cent to $865 million in the three months to June 30, up from $811 million in the prior quarter, reflecting the continued deterioration in the commercial sector in New Zealand.
Impaired assets increased 24 per cent principally from commercial facilities in the Institutional Bank and in New Zealand.
CEO Gail Kelly says Westpac continues to perform solidly despite the challenging operating conditions, saying that group revenue remains strong at around levels recorded in the first two quarters of the year. Westpac’s profits have been increasing year on year over the past four years.
Surf wear company Billabong International Ltd (ASX:BBG) has announced a 13.3 per cent drop in full year profit and cut its final dividend.
Net profit for the year to June 30 came to $152.8 million, down from $176.38 million the year before.
The company’s operating net profit which excluded a non-cash impairment charge of $7.4 million, dropped 9.2 per cent to $160.2 million, at the bottom end of its previous forecasts.
Group sales revenue rose 23.9 per cent to $1.67 billion.
CEO Derek O’Neill says given the lack of retailer confidence, the steep slowdown in consumer spending in various global economies and the extreme volatility in exchange rates, the company has emerged in remarkably good shape.
In the absence of any further unforeseen exceptional circumstances impacting the global boardsports market, the group is forecasting reported net profit after tax to be flat for the 2010 financial year.
Billabong declared a final dividend of 18 cents a share down from 28.5 cents last year. Looking at the past five years, Billabong International’s profits have been gradually rising each year.
