Rio Tinto's iron ore shipments miss estimates due to May train derailment
Shares fall as much as 2.6% to lowest since March 18
Derailment led to 6 days of lost rail capacity
Flags possible delays at greater Nammuldi project
Updates with shares in paragraph 3 and China comment in paragraph
By Rishav Chatterjee
July 16 (Reuters) -Global mining giant Rio Tinto RIO.AX, RIO.L reported second-quarter iron ore shipments below analyst estimates on Tuesday, reflecting impacts to production from a train derailment in mid-May.
The world's largest producer of iron ore shipped 80.3 million tons (Mt) of the steel-making commodity from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended June 30. This was 3% higher than the previous quarter's 78 Mt but below the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 82.1 Mt.
Rio's Australia shares fell as much as 2.6% to A$116.75 in early trade, hitting their lowest since March 18. The stock was last down 1.8% at A$117.64.
Rio said in May that a train had derailed at its Western Australia iron ore operations, leading to around six days of lost rail capacity.
The firm's report comes as hopes for more stimulus in China have helped iron ore prices rebound recently after weak demand from the country's construction sector led to a dull first half.
"The (Chinese) government has provided additional measures for the property market to destock the large inventory overhang," Rio said on Tuesday.
China's steel exports in the first half of the year jumped 24% from a year earlier, pointing to a faltering construction sector, which is a heavy user of the metal.
Jefferies analysts do not expect Chinese steel exports to remain at multi-year highs. However, they expect Chinese steel production to remain resilient, which could bode well for Rio's shipments and production in the coming quarters.
Rio Tinto reaffirmed its annual iron ore shipments forecast of between 323 and 338 Mt.
The miner said economic conditions in top iron ore consumer China are still being supported by a recovery in manufacturing operations and more resilient exports. It, however, said that housing activity in Asia's largest economy remains weak.
The company flagged possible delays at its greater Nammuldi iron ore project, part of its next tranche of mine replacements.
Mined copper production on a consolidated basis came in at 171 thousand tons (Kt) for the quarter, up 10% from the prior quarter as the company continued to ramp up operations at its Oyu Tolgoi underground mine in Mongolia.
The company, however, lowered its annual alumina production estimates to a range of 7.0-7.3 Mt from 7.6-7.9 Mt, reflecting reduced operation rates at its Gladstone operations in Queensland.
Separately, the miner said its iron ore project in Simandou, Guinea had received all regulatory approvals from the local and Chinese governments.
Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Maju Samuel and Subhranshu Sahu
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
