Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques announced a strong set of results with operating cash flow of $13.9 billion, a record full year dividend of $5.2 billion and an additional $1 billion share buy-back; bringing total cash returns to shareholders to $9.7 billion declared for 2017.

"The strength of our cash flow is a result of resilient prices during the year coupled with a robust operational performance and a focus on mine to market productivity.

"Our strong balance sheet, world-class assets and disciplined allocation of capital puts us in the unique position of being able to invest in high-value growth through the cycle, and consistently deliver superior cash returns to shareholders", said Mr Jacques.

Rio Tinto has delivered underlying earnings of $8.6 billion and net earnings of $8.8 billion, achieving $0.4 billion of additional free cash flow from mine to market productivity programme against a backdrop of rising raw material costs across the industry, and reducing net debt to $3.8 billion.

Source: www.riotinto.com