Rio Tinto’s first-half profit falls on softer iron ore prices

Mining giant Rio Tinto has reported a 33 per cent slump in first-half profit as China’s faltering economic recovery drags on the steel industry’s demand for Western Australian iron ore.

The second-largest Australian miner on Wednesday announced shareholders would receive an interim dividend of $US1.77 ($2.62) a share for the six months to June 30 – a lower payout than the market was expecting – as underlying earnings fell from $US8.6 billion ($12.7 billion) to $US5.7 billion ($8.4 billion) due to softer commodity prices.