Rio Tinto Raises Interim Dividend 43% to $3.4 Billion
Key Facts
Rio Tinto raised its ordinary interim dividend 43% to $3.4 billion and announced it as part of first-half results published on July 29, 2026, not in a new announcement on October 28. The dividend was 211 U.S. cents per share, compared with 148 cents in the corresponding period of 2025. The company set an interim payout ratio of 50%. The decision came alongside higher free cash flow and earnings in the six months ended June 30, providing a basis for increasing cash returns to shareholders. The company said in its disclosure that it had decided to "declare an ordinary interim dividend of $3.4 billion, up 43%; and an interim payout ratio of 50%."
Free cash flow rose to $3.834 billion in the first half, from $2.185 billion a year earlier, an increase of 75%. Net cash generated from operating activities reached $9.173 billion, compared with $6.924 billion, up 32%. The comparison shows that growth in operating cash was accompanied by a larger increase in cash remaining after capital expenditure, a measure of the company's ability to fund dividends and investments from its cash resources. Chief Executive Simon Trott linked the rise in free cash flow to favorable commodity prices and improved performance. He said the two factors helped increase free cash flow 75% during the period.
Underlying EBITDA rose 28% to $14.826 billion, from $11.547 billion in the first half of 2025. Net profit attributable to owners of the company increased 47% to $6.664 billion, compared with $4.528 billion a year earlier. Underlying earnings per share also climbed to 421.4 U.S. cents, from 296.0 cents, an increase of 42%. The indicators reflect improved profitability and cash generation over the same period, while the interim payout ratio stood at 50%. Trott said favorable commodity prices, together with improved performance, contributed to a 28% rise in underlying earnings and a 75% increase in free cash flow.
Rio Tinto also attributed the improved performance to productivity growth, saying it had delivered $870 million in productivity benefits by the time it announced its first-half results. It added that it was on track to reach an annualized rate of $1.8 billion in those benefits by the end of 2026. In its third-quarter results update published on October 14, the company confirmed it remained on track to achieve the same targeted annualized rate of benefits. In results for the same period, it said copper, aluminium and lithium contributed more than half of underlying EBITDA in the first half. This points to a broader contribution from these metals to the company's earnings, alongside its iron ore business.
The interim dividend is part of a policy under which Rio Tinto says it targets total cash returns to shareholders of between 40% and 60% of underlying earnings through the cycle. The company typically pays dividends twice a year, interim and final, and announces their amounts with its half-year and full-year results. In its 2025 results, the ordinary annual dividend was 402 U.S. cents per share, the same level recorded in 2024, despite a 14% decline in net profit attributable to owners during 2025. The comparison provides context for the increase in the 2026 interim dividend, following growth in earnings and cash flow in the first half. The official disclosure did not establish that the dividend exceeded analysts' expectations.
In the latest trading data cited, Rio Tinto shares closed at 85.74 on October 27, 2026. The data do not specify the currency or link the share move that day to the dividend announcement issued in July. The latest operating indicators in the third-quarter results, published on October 14, show copper production at the Oyu Tolgoi mine up 29% year to date and global iron ore sales up 3% over the same period. The company kept its 2026 global iron ore sales guidance at a range of 343 to 366 million tonnes. It also said it remained on track to achieve its targeted annualized productivity benefits of $1.8 billion by year-end.