RTZ profit

Press, 13 April 1984, Page 13

RTZ profit

Rio Tinto-Zinc, the Londonbased mining giant, had a group operating profit of sAust972.66M for 1983, 55 per cent up on 1982. The profit figure benefited from cost reduction programmes, notably by Hamersley and Commonwealth Smelting at Avonmouth, and from higher metal prices. After deducting taxation and outside shareholders’ interests, net earnings attributable to RTZ shareholders were $269.1M, up 67 per cent on the year before. RTZ says Comalco benefited from the substantially higher aluminium price to have net earnings of $26.37M. The principal extraordinary item listed by the RTZ report is the sale of the shares and renunciation of rights in CRA. Dilution of RTZ’s interest in the Australian group gave rise to a charge of $33.8M which was the difference between the reduction in RTZ’s share of the book amount of CRA’s net assets.

Flour mills result The unaudited group net profit of Canterbury Roller Flour Mill Company, Ltd, of Ashburton, dropped 3.4 per cent to $87,793 in the year to December 31, compared with the previous corresponding period. Sales fell 4.1 per cent to $2,158,001. A recommended annual dividend of 20c a share (20 per cent) is payable on May 15, ex dividend on May 2.