2025-07-30 12:10
Rio Tinto first-half profit drops 16% to $4.81 billion Interim dividend drops to $1.48, lowest in seven years Focus shifts to copper and lithium due to strong demand July 30 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto reported its smallest first-half underlying profit since 2020 and lowest interim dividend in seven years on Wednesday, as falling iron ore prices and rising costs in Australia highlighted the challenges facing its incoming CEO. The world's largest iron ore producer posted underlying earnings of $4.81 billion for the six months to June 30, down 16% from a year earlier and slightly below a $5.05 billion Visible Alpha consensus. Sign up here. Prices the miner received for its iron ore fell by 15%, though that was partly offset by stronger prices for copper, bauxite, alumina, aluminium and gold. Rio (RIO.AX) , opens new tab, (RIO.L) , opens new tab, which is increasingly shifting its focus to copper and lithium, declared a $1.48 per share interim dividend, down from $1.77 last year. Its London-listed shares were down 1.3% at 1145 GMT. Still, outgoing CEO Jakob Stausholm said the company was in "good shape", with lots of opportunities ahead for iron ore boss Simon Trott, who will take charge from August 25. "With the CEO transition ... one question is: how will Rio's strategy change? The consensus is that management will be focused on operational improvements," analysts at Jefferies, who don't expect major changes, said. Stausholm said his major achievements included Rio Tinto's progress towards cutting carbon emissions by 50% by the end of the decade. Costs rose during his tenure, but the miner was boosting operational efficiency as it worked on new lithium and copper projects, Stausholm said, declining to comment on any potential headcount reduction. "We are streamlining the company, and there might be more to come," Stausholm told investors. Reuters reported that Rio Tinto is considering a possible sale of its titanium unit, as well as streamlining the structure of its core businesses. Asked by analysts, Stausholm said the Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium (RTIT) business had low profitability in the first half. "They had very difficult conditions. But the question is still, are we the best owner of it or are we not? And I happily leave that for my successor," he said. Rio Tinto's unit costs at its flagship Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia rose to $24.3 per wet metric ton (wmt) in the first half, from $23.2 per wmt last year, due to lower shipments and impact from cyclones. Iron ore prices eased on lower steel production in top consumer China and more supply from Australia, Brazil, and South Africa. Rio maintained its full-year Pilbara shipment guidance at the lower end of its 323-338 million tons range. In lithium, prices have started to recover from a downturn, and Rio Tinto has seen robust demand from the stationary battery sector which has doubled from a year ago, Stausholm said. TARIFFS Stausholm said U.S. tariffs on copper represented an opportunity for Rio's Kennecott project, where he expects the smelter to become "much more profitable from the tariffs immediately". He said that growing power demand from data centres could double U.S. copper consumption to 4 million tons, adding that the company's Resolution Copper project in Arizona, if built, "should be able to produce one-fourth of the copper consumption in the U.S. for decades to come." But talking about the company's aluminium business in Canada, he said the end consumer would be charged for the 50% U.S. import tariff in effect since June 4. "Do we like all this? Do we like a 50% tariff on aluminium? Not really. But it's not for us to make statements around that," Stausholm said. "I think it's much more the final consumer that will have to pay. We are able to pass on things." https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/rio-tinto-logs-smallest-first-half-profit-five-years-lower-iron-ore-prices-2025-07-30/
2025-07-30 12:01
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fed-decision-live-updates-trump-pressures-powell-cut-ahead-fomc-meeting-2025-07-30/
2025-07-30 12:01
July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. grain trader and processor Bunge Global (BG.N) , opens new tab reported a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter profit on Wednesday on improved oilseed processing margins and better results from its grains and oils merchandising business. The earnings beat came as Bunge secured final regulatory approvals for its long-delayed deal to acquire grain handler Viterra, a transaction that officially closed at the start of the third quarter on July 2. It also completed the sale of its U.S. corn milling business. Sign up here. Bunge maintained its 2025 earnings guidance of $7.75 per share, which would be its lowest in six years, but said it would update it to include the Viterra merger prior to reporting third-quarter results. Its shares were up 1.2% in pre-market trading. Bunge and agribusiness peers including Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM.N) , opens new tab and Cargill have seen profits erode in recent quarters due to ample global crop supplies and thinning margins. Trade tensions stoked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs further disrupted trade flows while biofuel policy uncertainty has dented demand for green energy feedstocks like corn and soybean oil. Bunge posted an adjusted profit of $1.31 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.14, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its core agribusiness segment, the largest by revenue and volume, saw adjusted profit fall 22% while net sales fell 5.1% to $9.17 billion in the reported quarter from a year earlier. Weak soybean prices amid bumper crops in Brazil and the United States, the top two producers and exporters, helped to expand oilseed processing margins in the second quarter, boosting Bunge's full-year outlook for the agribusiness unit. But the company lowered its outlook for its refined and specialty oils segment after adjusted second-quarter profit dropped nearly 40%. https://www.reuters.com/business/bunge-beats-quarterly-profit-estimates-processing-margin-recovery-2025-07-30/
2025-07-30 12:00
8.8 magnitude quake strikes near city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Tsunami of 3-5 metres recorded in Kamchatka Peninsula French Polynesia warns of 4-metre waves Warnings issued, then downgraded in Japan, Hawaii July 30 (Reuters) - Parts of French Polynesia were told to brace for waves as high as 4 metres (13 ft) on Wednesday, after a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern coast triggered tsunami warnings as far away as Hawaii, Japan and Chile. The shallow tremor off the Kamchatka Peninsula damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan's eastern seaboard - devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 - was ordered to evacuate, as were parts of Hawaii. Sign up here. By Wednesday evening, Japan and Hawaii had downgraded their tsunami warnings, but authorities in French Polynesia warned residents of several of the remote Marquesas Islands to move to higher ground, and follow official instructions. The waves were expected to hit some islands in the early morning hours. "Our armed forces in French Polynesia are on alert as a precautionary measure, to be ready to assist our fellow citizens and state services in potential search and rescue operations or medical evacuations," French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on the social media platform X. While the Marquesas are high-rising volcanic islands, much of French Polynesia consists of low-lying atolls. Russian scientists said the quake in Kamchatka was the most powerful to hit the region since 1952. "Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors," Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. "It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes," said Yaroslav, 25, in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, south of Kamchatka, tsunami waves exceeded 3 metres, with the largest up to 5 metres, Russia's RIA news agency reported. Alexander Ovsyannikov, the town's mayor, urged residents to assess damage to their homes and not to use gas stove heating until inspections had been carried out. Tsunami waves partially flooded the port and a fish processing plant in the town, sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia's emergency ministry said. Verified drone footage showed the town's entire shoreline was submerged, with taller buildings and some storage facilities surrounded by water as it swept back out to sea. Hawaii recorded waves of up to 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) while in Japan the largest recorded came to 1.3 metres, officials said. Tsunami warnings and orders to head for higher ground in both places were later downgraded in most areas to advisories, with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center saying Hawaii no longer expected to see a major tsunami. Flights out of Honolulu airport resumed in the evening, the transportation department said. Waves of nearly half a metre were observed as far as California, with smaller ones reaching Canada's province of British Columbia. WARNINGS ACROSS THE PACIFIC The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000. Tsunami alarms had sounded in coastal towns across Japan's Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people. Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said. Broadcaster Asahi TV reported a 58-year-old woman died when her car fell off a cliff while she was evacuating in central Japan's Mie prefecture. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said no injuries or damage had been reported, and there were no irregularities at any nuclear plants. But hundreds of thousands of commuters in Tokyo and surrounding areas faced being stranded as they headed home, with operations on railway lines along the Pacific coast remaining halted. 'RING OF FIRE' Russia's Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that a kindergarten was damaged, but most buildings withstood the quake. Several people in Kamchatka sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told Russia’s TASS state news agency. Video footage from the region's health ministry showed a team of medics in the city of 165,000 residents performing surgery as the tremors shook their operating theatre. Kamchatka and Russia's Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. "However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high ... as one might expect from such a magnitude," said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service, on Telegram. "Aftershocks are currently ongoing ... Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future." https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/huge-quake-rocks-russias-far-east-triggering-tsunami-warnings-around-pacific-2025-07-30/
2025-07-30 11:57
MADRID, July 30 (Reuters) - Spanish water and renewable energy company Cox (COXGA.MC) , opens new tab is considering buying Iberdrola's (IBE.MC) , opens new tab assets in Mexico, CEO Nacho Moreno told Reuters on Wednesday, as part of the company's strategy to pursue growth through acquisitions. "What I can tell you is that it's true they are running a process to sell their Mexican business," Moreno said in an interview. Sign up here. "It's true that that business is absolutely amazing. And it's true that we're looking into that business as much as we are looking into some other businesses." Moreno added that Cox regarded Mexico as "one of our strategic regions". Iberdrola did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday. The company controls six wind parks and three solar parks in Mexico, according to its website, as well as other power plants including gas and cogeneration. Earlier this week, Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reported that Cox had put forward an offer worth around 4 billion euros ($4.62 billion) for the Mexican assets. Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galan said last week reports of a possible sale were rumours, and declined to comment during the presentation of the company results and a 5 billion euro capital increase. In 2023, Iberdrola agreed to sell $6 billion worth of assets in Mexico - mostly gas-fired power plants - and is focusing on building and upgrading power grids in countries including Britain and the United States. DEALS AND INVESTMENTS Cox is seeking growth in its water and renewable energy division and to this end will boost investments in coming years and buy assets, Moreno said. "Within that division, growth should come from inorganic opportunities as well as organic," he said. "And I would rather bet on inorganic." It is analysing the potential acquisition of a couple of water desalination plants in the north of Africa, Moreno said. Cox plans to invest at least 600 million euros this year and increase investments to around 1 billion euros a year in 2026 and 2027. The company posted a profit of 13 million euros for the first six months of the year, a 71% increase from a year earlier when excluding one-offs last year. Revenue rose 62% in the same period. ($1 = 0.8656 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/spains-cox-eyes-iberdrolas-mexican-assets-other-deals-fuel-growth-ceo-says-2025-07-30/
2025-07-30 11:52
European stocks mixed before Fed U.S.-China trade talks end without major breakthroughs Investors await central bank decisions and corporate earnings LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Global stocks struggled for clear direction ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement later on Wednesday, with investors cautious after two days of trade talks between the U.S. and China concluded without any major breakthroughs. Treasury yields and the dollar were also little changed as the market anticipated the Fed will keep rates on hold despite pressure from the White House to lower borrowing costs. Sign up here. Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab was up 0.1%, with blue-chip indexes rising slightly in Frankfurt (.GDAXI) , opens new tab and Paris (.FCHI) , opens new tab and falling in London (.FTSE) , opens new tab. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were pointing to a slightly higher open when Wall Street trading gets underway. Early gains for MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab petered out to trade flat. Japan's Nikkei 225 (.N225) , opens new tab ended the session little changed. Investors await several central bank decisions, economic reports and corporate earnings over the coming days, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline. Although the Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting later on Wednesday, analysts have predicted some central bank officials who favour lower borrowing costs could voice rare dissent, signalling that a rate cut could happen soon. "I'm not expecting a rate cut," said George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars. "They're going to hint a rate cut in September, but they're not going to commit themselves to it." The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was flat at 4.324, having briefly dropped to its lowest since July 3 at 4.314%. The two-year yield , which is more sensitive to change in interest rate expectations, was little changed at 3.869%. With the Bank of Japan expected to keep policy unchanged on Thursday, the markets will analyse its comments to gauge when the next rate increase will come after a trade deal between Japan and the U.S. cleared the way for the bank to resume rate hikes. Some of the negotiations with countries seeking to avert Trump's punitive tariffs are expected to continue up to the deadline. India is among those bracing for higher U.S. tariffs - likely between 20% and 25% - on some exports as it holds off on fresh trade concessions ahead of the deadline, two Indian government sources said. Meanwhile, three South Korean cabinet-level officials met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a last-ditch push for a deal. CORPORATE EARNINGS CONTINUE Earnings were mixed on Wednesday. UBS Group (UBSG.S) , opens new tab reported profits that exceeded analysts' expectations, while HSBC profits missed estimates as its losses from China mounted. German sportswear maker Adidas (ADSGn.DE) , opens new tab and French luxury group Kering (PRTP.PA) , opens new tab both flagged that tariffs were having an impact on costs and pricing. U.S. tech megacaps Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Meta (META.O) , opens new tab are due to report earnings on Wednesday that will set the tone for the rest of the week and the earnings season. "It's been a solid U.S. reporting season so far, but these megacap names need to run it hot and blow the lights out, given the bar to please has been sufficiently raised," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. In currency markets, the dollar index , which measures the currency against six others, rose less than 0.1% to 98.986, just below a five-week high of 99.143 reached on Tuesday. The euro was down 0.1% against the dollar. The U.S. currency dropped 0.2% to 148.26 yen . Brent crude futures eased 0.8% to $71.96 a barrel and U.S. crude futures were down 0.8% at $68.68. Spot gold was up 0.1% to $3,327.85 after hitting a 2-1/2 week low on Monday. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-4-2025-07-30/
