How good it feels to be growing again. After saddling itself with a mountain of debt to buy Alcan for $38bn at a time – 2007 – when warning lights about the global economy were already flashing, Rio Tinto has rediscovered the joys of mining. A 125 per cent jump in net underlying earnings to $5.8bn in the six months to June 30, driven by strong iron ore demand and higher prices, is one thing. More striking, if you are a Rio shareholder with a brow furrowed from looking too long at its balance sheet, is the company’s ability to generate cash – $9.9bn in the period. That, plus last year’s $15bn rights issue and a series of targeted disposals, allowed Rio to cut its debt from $39bn a year ago to $12bn.
重新增長的感覺可真好！2007年，在全球經濟亮起警燈的形勢下，力拓(Rio Tinto)以380億美元收購加鋁(Alcan)，因此背上了沉重債務。如今，力拓重新找到了挖礦的快樂。受鐵礦石需求強勁和價格上漲的推動，力拓在截至6月30日的上半年凈基本利潤增長125%，至58億美元。這只是一方面。更引人注目的——假設你是力拓股東，因太久觀察資產負債表而蹙起了眉頭——是該公司產生現金流的能力：上半年達到99億美元。這些，加上去年150億美元的配股發行和一系列有針對性的資產出售，使力拓得以將債務從一年前的390億美元削減至120億美元。