Rio Tinto
The figures
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Why it's interesting
The FTSE giant was the target of a failed takeover bid by rival Glencore and with the six month cooling period for offers having just come to an end, investors will be eager to see what kind of shape the miner is in with speculation that a new offer will come sooner or later.
For 2014, the miner's successful cost cutting produced better than expected results and for investors a $2bn (£1.3bn) share buyback program and larger dividend.
Iron Ore output by Rio Tinto, its largest revenue driver, has gone into overdrive despite plunging prices, which has led smaller firms to call for a cap on production. “This is rational, normal economics. It’s what typically happens across a range of commodities, not just iron ore,” chief executive Sam Walsh told shareholders at the company AGM last week.
The firm is reliant on China, which accounts for three in every five tons of iron ore shipped, and a slowdown in its economy is a weight on investors, though Walsh remains confident here too.
What Rio Tinto said
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In Short
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