Rio Tinto financial information by business unit (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Disclosure Of Financial Information By Business Unit [Abstract]

Schedule of financial information by business unit

			Gross revenue^(a)									EBITDA ^(b)									Net earnings^(c)
			for the year ended 31 December									for the year ended 31 December									for the year ended 31 December
	Rio Tinto
	interest			2018			2017			2016			2018			2017			2016			2018			2017			2016
	%		US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m
Iron Ore
Pilbara	(d)			18,359			18,143			14,530			11,267			11,383			8,558			6,460			6,576			4,662
Evaluation projects/other				126			108			75			58			137			(32	)		54			116			(51	)
Total Iron Ore				18,485			18,251			14,605			11,325			11,520			8,526			6,514			6,692			4,611

Aluminium	(e)
Bauxite				2,324			2,019			1,913			790			804			848			412			463			493
Alumina				3,340			2,661			2,118			1,137			454			27			634			180			(121	)
Intrasegment				(861	)		(790	)		(786	)		(7	)		(25	)		-			(5	)		(17	)		-
Bauxite & Alumina				4,803			3,890			3,245			1,920			1,233			875			1,041			626			372
Primary Metal				6,468			5,808			4,913			1,418			1,762			1,258			595			778			402
Pacific Aluminium				2,541			2,305			1,971			148			453			264			-			176			62
Inter-segment and other				(3,226	)		(2,321	)		(1,822	)		(88	)		(19	)		(50	)		(67	)		(12	)		(13	)
Integrated operations				10,586			9,682			8,307			3,398			3,429			2,347			1,569			1,568			823
Other product group items				1,479			1,214			1,075			(440	)		(132	)		(42	)		(344	)		(100	)		(30	)
Product group operations				12,065			10,896			9,382			2,958			3,297			2,305			1,225			1,468			793
Evaluation projects/other				126			109			76			137			126			167			122			115			154
Total Aluminium				12,191			11,005			9,458			3,095			3,423			2,472			1,347			1,583			947

Copper & Diamonds
Rio Tinto Kennecott		100.0		1,862			1,352			1,243			785			539			126			293			78			(228	)
Escondida		30.0		2,274			1,811			1,465			1,301			1,030			793			506			325			270
Grasberg joint venture	(g)			457			33			-			281			(3	)		(17	)		217			(169	)		(64	)
Oyu Tolgoi and Turquoise Hill	(h)			1,180			940			1,203			375			256			436			69			36			52
Diamonds	(i)			695			706			613			301			287			239			118			92			47
Product group operations				6,468			4,842			4,524			3,043			2,109			1,577			1,203			362			77
Evaluation projects/other				-			-			-			(267	)		(205	)		(190	)		(149	)		(99	)		(95	)
Total Copper & Diamonds				6,468			4,842			4,524			2,776			1,904			1,387			1,054			263			(18	)

Energy & Minerals
Rio Tinto Coal Australia	(j)			989			2,829			2,634			893			1,223			893			591			716			382
Iron Ore Company of Canada		58.7		1,583			1,867			1,324			586			770			335			166			235			64
Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium	(k)			1,782			1,763			1,419			510			546			370			174			201			86
Rio Tinto Borates		100.0		622			630			620			197			244			213			111			126			117
Dampier Salt		68.4		246			215			259			56			27			74			18			3			25
Uranium	(l)			415			417			456			18			15			54			(4	)		(26	)		10
Product group operations				5,637			7,721			6,712			2,260			2,825			1,939			1,056			1,255			684
Simandou iron ore project	(m)			-			-			-			(15	)		(13	)		(102	)		(7	)		(6	)		(47	)
Evaluation projects/other				60			43			22			(52	)		(9	)		(31	)		(37	)		(7	)		(25	)
Total Energy & Minerals				5,697			7,764			6,734			2,193			2,803			1,806			1,012			1,242			612

Other operations	(n)			9			10			8			(70	)		(116	)		(95	)		(102	)		(138	)		(88	)

Inter-segment transactions				(15	)		(15	)		(11	)		-			-			-			-			-			-

Product group total				42,835			41,857			35,318			19,319			19,534			14,096			9,825			9,642			6,064

Central pension costs, share-based payments and insurance													(128	)		(68	)		(34	)		(90	)		(48	)		(24	)
Restructuring, project and one-off costs													(272	)		(177	)		(13	)		(190	)		(124	)		(9	)
Central costs													(552	)		(491	)		(364	)		(410	)		(311	)		(208	)
Exploration and evaluation													(231	)		(218	)		(175	)		(193	)		(178	)		(147	)
Net interest																						(134	)		(354	)		(576	)
Underlying EBITDA/earnings													18,136			18,580			13,510			8,808			8,627			5,100
Items excluded from underlying EBITDA/earnings				-			10			18			5,127			1,912			(687	)		4,830			135			(483	)
EBITDA/net earnings													23,263			20,492			12,823			13,638			8,762			4,617
Reconciliation to Group income statement
Share of equity accounted unit sales and
intra-subsidiary/equity accounted unit sales				(2,313	)		(1,837	)		(1,555	)
Depreciation and amortisation in subsidiaries
excluding capitalised depreciation													(3,909	)		(4,302	)		(4,691	)
Impairment charges													(132	)		(796	)		(249	)
Depreciation and amortisation in equity accounted units													(650	)		(648	)		(526	)
Taxation and finance items in equity accounted units													(372	)		(272	)		(241	)
Consolidated sales revenue/profit on
ordinary activities before finance items and taxation				40,522			40,030			33,781			18,200			14,474			7,116

												Depreciation and
			Capital expenditure^(o)									amortisation									Operating assets ^(p)									Employees
			for the year ended 31 December									for the year ended 31 December									as at									for the year ended 31 December
	Rio Tinto
	interest			2018			2017			2016			2018			2017			2016			2018			2017			2016			2018		2017		2016
	%		US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			US$m			Number		Number		Number
Iron Ore
Pilbara	(d)			1,288			1,201			868			1,682			1,645			1,645			14,486			16,535			16,357			10,422		10,159		10,424
Evaluation projects/other			-			-			-			-			-			-				2			2			2		-		-		-
Total Iron Ore				1,288			1,201			868			1,682			1,645			1,645			14,488			16,537			16,359			10,422		10,159		10,424

Aluminium	(e)
Bauxite				953			825			343			165			123			110			2,494			1,897			1,278			2,676		2,534		2,592
Alumina				218			108			87			194			209			206			2,721			2,733			2,588			2,009		2,012		2,139
Intrasegment			-			-						-			-							(20	)		(18	)	-			-		-		-
Bauxite & Alumina				1,171			933			430			359			332			316			5,195			4,612			3,866			4,685		4,546		4,731
Primary Metal				595			389			394			615			665			716			9,306			9,946			10,701			6,497		6,404		6,799
Pacific Aluminium				115			109			91			149			196			193			1,156			1,016			1,044			2,278		2,173		2,276
Inter-segment and other			-				5			1			(1	)		6			25			789			772			171			180		222		231
Integrated operations				1,881			1,436			916			1,122			1,199			1,250			16,446			16,346			15,782			13,640		13,345		14,037
Other product group items	(f)			(508	)	-			-			-			-			-			-			-			-			-		-		-
Total Aluminium				1,373			1,436			916			1,122			1,199			1,250			16,446			16,346			15,782			13,640		13,345		14,037

Copper & Diamonds
Rio Tinto Kennecott		100.0		318			249			333			427			422			530			1,864			1,936			2,189			1,993		1,734		1,638
Escondida		30.0		302			248			517			518			507			364			3,057			3,369			3,565			1,087		1,079		1,230
Grasberg joint venture	(g)			171			138			174			30			42			89		-				1,137			1,151			1,615		1,642		2,859
Oyu Tolgoi and Turquoise Hill	(h)			1,284			901			322			219			344			450			6,072			4,725			3,804			2,863		2,835		2,728
Diamonds	(i)			64			85			97			118			132			164			267			441			655			967		922		907
Product group operations				2,139			1,621			1,443			1,312			1,447			1,597			11,260			11,608			11,364			8,525		8,212		9,362
Evaluation projects/other				11			1			(2	)		5			5			4			129			135			166			146		142		127
Total Copper & Diamonds				2,150			1,622			1,441			1,317			1,452			1,601			11,389			11,743			11,530			8,671		8,354		9,489

Energy & Minerals
Rio Tinto Coal Australia	(j)/(q)			32			84			(107	)		34			152			297			(837	)		1,040			1,807			1,005		1,924		3,049
Iron Ore Company of Canada		58.7		189			202			75			154			157			151			975			988			1,018			2,397		2,382		2,308
Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium	(k)			169			119			97			201			219			189			3,390			3,881			3,662			4,058		4,048		4,094
Rio Tinto Borates		100.0		44			28			31			62			65			53			518			523			508			980		936		984
Dampier Salt		68.4		14			13			11			20			22			23			165			150			146			239		232		317
Uranium	(l)			8			21			30			4			37			25			(406	)		(327	)		(143	)		1,324		1,307		1,303
Product group operations				456			467			137			475			652			738			3,805			6,255			6,998			10,003		10,829		12,055
Simandou iron ore project	(m)		-			-			-			-			-			-				15			17			13			70		10		635
Evaluation projects/other			-			-				4		-			-				1			41			41			38			33		25		763
Total Energy & Minerals				456			467			141			475			652			739			3,861			6,313			7,049			10,106		10,864		13,453

Other operations	(n)			12			(35	)		(11	)		26			32			34			(442	)		(328	)		203			187		203		249

Product group total				5,279			4,691			3,355			4,622			4,980			5,269			45,742			50,611			50,923			43,026		42,925		47,652
Inter-segment transactions																						129			206			142
Net assets/(liabilities) of disposal groups held for sale	(r)																					440			370			(7	)
Other items				65			70			(46	)		43			42			51			(2,880	)		(2,631	)		(2,181	)		4,432		3,882		3,377
Less: equity accounted units				(500	)		(417	)		(651	)		(650	)		(647	)		(526	)	-			-			-			-		-		-
Total				4,844			4,344			2,658			4,015			4,375			4,794			43,431			48,556			48,877			47,458		46,807		51,029
Add back: Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment				586			138			354
Total capital expenditure per cash flow statement				5,430			4,482			3,012
Less: Net cash/(debt)																						255			(3,845	)		(9,587	)
Less: EAU funded balances excluded from net debt																					-			-			-
Equity attributable to owners of Rio Tinto																						43,686			44,711			39,290

Notes to financial information
by business unit

Business units are classified according to the Group’s management structure.

Gross sales revenue includes the sales revenue of equity accounted units on a proportionately consolidated basis (after adjusting for sales to subsidiaries) in addition to consolidated sales. Consolidated sales revenue includes subsidiary sales to equity accounted units which are not included in gross sales revenue.

EBITDA of subsidiaries and the Group's share of EBITDA relating to equity accounted units represents profit before: tax, net finance items, depreciation and amortisation charged to the income statement in the period. Underlying EBITDA excludes the EBITDA impact of the same items that are excluded from underlying earnings.

Represents profit after tax for the period attributable to the owners of the Rio Tinto Group. Business unit earnings are stated before finance items but after the amortisation of discount related to provisions. Earnings attributed to business units do not include amounts that are excluded in arriving at underlying earnings.

Pilbara represents the Group’s 100% holding in Hamersley, 50% holding of Hope Downs Joint Venture and 65% holding of Robe River Iron Associates. The Group’s net beneficial interest in Robe River Iron Associates is 53%, as 30% is held through a 60% owned subsidiary and 35% is held through a 100% owned subsidiary.

Presented on an integrated operations basis, splitting activities between Bauxite & Alumina, Primary Metal, Pacific Aluminium and Other integrated operations (which reflect the results of the integrated production of aluminium) and other product group items which relate to other commercial activities.

f)	Aluminium capital expenditure is reported net of US$508 million proceeds received on the sale of surplus land at Kitimat. These proceeds are not included in Aluminium’s free cash flow and the associated gain is excluded from business unit earnings and EBITDA.

Through a joint venture agreement with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (Freeport), we were entitled to 40% of material mined above an agreed threshold as a consequence of expansions and developments of the Grasberg facilities since 1998 (until 21 December 2018). On 28 September 2018, we entered into a binding agreement to sell our entire interest in the Grasberg mine to PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Persero) (Inalum). The sale completed on 21 December 2018.

h)	Our interest in Oyu Tolgoi is held indirectly through our 50.8% investment in Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd (TRQ), where TRQ’s principal asset is its 66% investment in Oyu Tolgoi LLC, which owns the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine.

i)	Includes our interests in Argyle (100%) and Diavik (60%).

j)	Includes our 82% interest in the Hail Creek coal mine (until 1 August 2018), our 80% interest in the Kestrel underground coal mine (until 1 August 2018) and interests in the Winchester South (until 1 June 2018) and Valeria development projects (until 1 August 2018).

On 1 June 2018, we sold our entire 75% interest in the Winchester South coal development project in Queensland, Australia, to Whitehaven Coal Limited for US$200 million.

On 1 August 2018, we sold our entire 82% interest in the Hail Creek coal mine and 71.2% interest in the Valeria coal development project in Queensland, Australia, to Glencore for US$1.7 billion.

On 1 August 2018, we sold our entire 80% interest in the Kestrel underground coal mine in Queensland, Australia, to a consortium comprising private equity manager EMR Capital (EMR) and PT Adaro Energy Tbk (Adaro), an Indonesian listed coal company, for US$2.25 billion.

On 1 September 2017, we sold our 100% shareholding in Coal & Allied Industries Limited to Yancoal Australia Limited for US$2.69 billion (before working capital adjustments).

Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s operating assets of US$(837) million at 31 December 2018 include provisions for onerous contracts in relation to rail infrastructure capacity and capital gains tax payable on the divestments announced in the year, partly offset by financial assets and receivables relating to contingent royalties and disposal proceeds.

k)	Includes our interests in Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (100%), QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM, 80%) and Richards Bay Minerals (attributable interest of 74%).

Includes our interests in Energy Resources of Australia (68.4%) and Rössing Uranium Limited (Rössing) (68.6%). On 26 November 2018, we entered into a binding agreement with China National Uranium Corporation Limited (CNUC) to sell our entire 68.6% interest in the Rössing mine in Namibia, subject to certain conditions.

Simfer Jersey Limited, a company incorporated in Jersey in which the Group has a 53% interest, has an 85% interest in Simfer S.A., the company that manages the Simandou project in Guinea. The Group therefore has a 45.05% indirect interest in Simfer S.A. These entities are consolidated as subsidiaries and together referred to as the Simandou iron ore project.

n)	Other operations include our 100% interest in the curtailed Gove alumina refinery and Rio Tinto Marine.

Capital expenditure is the net cash outflow on purchases less sales of property, plant and equipment, capitalised evaluation costs and purchases less sales of other intangible assets. The details provided include 100% of subsidiaries’ capital expenditure and Rio Tinto’s share of the capital expenditure of joint operations and equity accounted units.

Operating assets of subsidiaries is comprised of net assets excluding post-retirement assets and liabilities, net of tax, and before deducting net debt. Operating assets are stated after the deduction of non-controlling interests – these are calculated by reference to the net assets of the relevant companies (ie inclusive of such companies’ debt and amounts due to or from Rio Tinto Group companies).

q)	Capital expenditure in 2016 for Rio Tinto Coal Australia includes net proceeds of US$192 million for the sale of our 100% interest in the Mount Pleasant thermal coal project to MACH Energy Australia Pty Ltd on 5 August 2016.

r)	Assets and liabilities held for sale at 31 December 2018 include our interest in Rössing Uranium Limited, the ISAL smelter, the Aluchemie anode plant, and the Alufluor aluminium fluoride plant.

Assets and liabilities held for sale at 31 December 2017 included our interest in the Dunkerque aluminium smelter and certain other separate assets.