Last checked at 3 Mar 2016 08:07
2015 Annual report and Strategic report, 2016 annual general meetings and 2015 Annual report on Form 20-F
3 March 2016
Rio Tinto has today posted the following documents on its website at: www.riotinto.com/results-and-reports and www.riotinto.com/agm2016
• 2015 Annual report
• 2015 Strategic report
• 2016 Notices of annual general meetings
Rio Tinto plc will hold its 2016 annual general meeting in London on 14 April 2016 and Rio Tinto Limited will hold its annual general meeting in Brisbane on 5 May 2016.
Rio Tinto Limited has released the 2015 Annual report, 2015 Strategic report and its 2016 Notice of annual general meeting to the ASX and they will be available shortly on the Australian Securities Exchange's Market Announcements Platform.
Likewise, Rio Tinto plc will submit the 2015 Annual report, 2015 Strategic report and Rio Tinto plc 2016 Notice of annual general meeting to the UK Listing Authority and they will be available shortly for public inspection on the National Storage Mechanism (NSM): www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM.
These documents are expected to be sent to shareholders who have elected to receive electronic communications on 3 March 2016, and to shareholders who have elected to receive hard copy communications on 11 March 2016.
Rio Tinto will also file its 2015 Annual report on Form 20-F with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission today. American Depositary Receipt holders will shortly be able to view Rio Tinto's 2015 Annual report, Rio Tinto plc's 2016 Notice of annual general meeting and the 2015 Annual report on Form 20-F on the Rio Tinto website at: www.riotinto.com/agm2016
Rio Tinto has also today posted a summary of its 2015 Sustainable development report on its website at: www.riotinto.com/sd2015
Hard copies of these documents can be obtained free of charge on request from the company secretaries, whose contact details are as follows:
Joint Company Secretary Rio Tinto Limited 120 Collins Street Melbourne, 3000 Australia | Company Secretary Rio Tinto plc 6 St James's Square London SW1Y 4AD United Kingdom |
In accordance with the requirements of Rules 4.1 & 6.3.5 of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, a description of the principal risks and uncertainties affecting the Group and a responsibility statement are set out in appendix 1 to this announcement.
Contacts
media.enquiries@riotinto.com
www.riotinto.com
Follow @RioTinto on Twitter
Media Relations, EMEA/AmericasIlltud Harri T +44 20 7781 1152 M +44 7920 503 600
David Outhwaite T +44 20 7781 1623 M +44 7787 597 493
David Luff T + 44 20 7781 1177M + 44 7780 226 422
Investor Relations, EMEA/AmericasJohn Smelt T +44 20 7781 1654 M +44 7879 642 675
David Ovington T +44 20 7781 2051 M +44 7920 010 978
Grant Donald T +44 20 7781 1262 M +44 7920 587 805 | Media Relations, Australia/AsiaBen Mitchell T +61 3 9283 3620 M +61 419 850 212
Bruce Tobin T +61 3 9283 3612 M +61 419 103 454
Matthew Klar T +61 7 3625 4244 M +61 457 525 578
Investor Relations, Australia/AsiaNatalie Worley T +61 3 9283 3063 M +61 409 210 462
Rachel Storrs T +61 3 9283 3628 M +61 417 401 018
|
Rio Tinto plc6 St James's Square London SW1Y 4AD United Kingdom
T +44 20 7781 2000Registered in England No. 719885 | Rio Tinto Limited120 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 Australia
T +61 3 9283 3333 Registered in Australia ABN 96 004 458 404 |
Appendix 1
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
The principal risks and uncertainties outlined in this section reflect the risks that could materially affect Rio Tinto or its ability to meet its strategic objectives, either directly or by triggering a succession of events that in aggregate become material to the Group.
Rio Tinto's business units and functions assess the potential economic and non-economic consequences of their respective risks using the framework defined by the Group's Risk policy and standard. Once identified, each principal risk or uncertainty is reviewed and monitored by the relevant internal experts and by the Risk Management Committee, the relevant board committees and the board.
There may be additional risks unknown to Rio Tinto and other risks currently not believed to be material which could turn out to be material. In previous years the Group has reported risks related to climate change, community disputes, discount rates, short-term cash generation initiatives, technology and innovation, supply chain and third party exposure, industrial relations, availability of skilled resources, and closure. The Group remains exposed to these risks but does not consider them to be principal risks currently (as defined below). Therefore they are not discussed in detail in this section. A number of them are, however, referred to in the sustainable development section of the Annual Report 2015 on pages 22 to 28.
The principal risks and uncertainties listed in this section may materialise individually, simultaneously or in combination and could significantly threaten the Group in the following respects:
Business model
The basis on which the Group generates or preserves value over the longer term, given its market positioning as a global diversified mining and processing business.
Future performance
The Group's ability to deliver its financial plan in the short to medium term.
Solvency
The Group's ability to maintain an appropriate capital structure and to meet its financial liabilities in full.
Liquidity
The Group's ability to meet its financial liabilities as they fall due.
Health, safety, environment and communities (HSEC)
The Group's ability to send our employees and contractors home safe and healthy every day and work with our communities and partners to achieve our sustainable development goals.
Group reputation
The Group's ability to maintain investor confidence and our social licence to operate.
The principal risks and uncertainties in this section have been categorised into Financial risks (Market, Financial and Strategic); Operational risks (HSEC, Resources, Operations, Projects and People); and Compliance risks (Stakeholder, Governance).
The principal risks and uncertainties should be considered in connection with any forward-looking statements in the Annual Report 2015 and the cautionary statement on the inside front cover of the Annual Report 2015.
Financial Risks | |
Inherent Risk and Uncertainty
| Potential downside impact (threats) |
Market risks: | |
Commodity prices, driven by demand and supply for the Group's products, vary outside of expectations over time.
Exchange rate variations and geopolitical issues may offset or exacerbate this risk. | Falling commodity prices, or adverse exchange rate movements, reduce cash flow, limiting profitability and dividend payments. These may trigger impairments and/or impact rating agency metrics. Extended subdued prices may reflect a longer-term fall in demand for the Group's products, and consequent reduced revenue streams may limit investment opportunities.
|
China's development pathway could impact demand for the Group's products outside of expectations. | An economic slowdown in China, and/or a material change in policy, results in a slowdown in demand and reduced investment opportunities.
|
Financial risks: | |
External events and internal discipline may impact Group liquidity. | The Group's ability to raise sufficient funds for planned expenditure, such as capital growth and/ or mergers and acquisitions, as well as the ability to weather a major economic downturn could be compromised by a weak balance sheet and/or inadequate access to liquidity.
|
Strategic risks: | |
Rio Tinto's ability to secure planned value by successfully executing divestments and acquisitions may vary. | Divestment and acquisition activity incurs transaction costs that cannot be recouped, or result in value destruction by realising less than planned value for divestments or paying more than fair value for acquisitions. This could result in unforeseen pressure on the Group's cash position or reduce the Group's ability to expand operations. The Group may also be liable for the past acts, omissions or liabilities of assets it has acquired that were unforeseen or greater than anticipated at the time of acquisition. The Group may also face liabilities for divested entities if the buyer fails to honour commitments or the Group agrees to retain certain liabilities.
|
The Group's ability to develop new projects successfully may vary. | A delay or overrun in the project schedule could negatively impact the Group's profitability, cash flows, asset carrying values, growth aspirations and relationships with key stakeholders.
|
Operational Risks | |
Inherent risk and uncertainty
| Potential downside impact (threats) |
HSEC risk: | |
Our operations and projects are inherently hazardous with the potential to cause illness or injury, damage to the environment, disruption to a community or a threat to personal security. | Failure to manage our health, safety, environment or community risks, could result in a catastrophic event or other long-term damage which could in turn harm the Group's social licence to operate.
Recognised hazards include, among others, underground operations, aviation, pit slope instability, tailings facilities, vector-borne and pandemic disease, chemicals, gases, vehicles and machinery, extreme natural environments, endangered flora or fauna, areas of cultural heritage significance, water supply stress and climate change.
|
Resource risks: | |
The success of the Group's exploration activity may vary. In addition, estimates of ore reserves are based on uncertain assumptions that, if changed, could result in the need to restate ore reserves. | A failure to discover new orebodies could undermine future growth prospects.
The risk that new information comes to light or operating conditions change means that the economic viability of some ore reserves can change and thus the reserves need to be restated downwards. As a result, projects may be less successful and of shorter duration than initially anticipated, and/or the asset value may be impaired.
|
Operations, projects and people risks: | |
Commercial excellence is derived from high operational and human productivity. Productivity is driven by optimization of the balance of people, process and systems. | Decreased productivity or business interruption may arise from a number of circumstances, including: · Operational difficulties such as extended industrial dispute, delayed development, bottlenecks or interruptions to infrastructure for power, water and transportation throughout the value chain · Operational failure such as a process safety incident, major pit slope, dump or tailings/water impoundment failure, underground incident. · Cyber breach/incident such as accidental or malicious actions. · Natural disasters such as earthquakes, subsidence, drought, flood, fire, storm and climate change can impact mines, smelters, refineries and infrastructure installations.
Any of these events could result in a significant HSEC incident, an interruption to operations, or the inability to deliver products and a commercial loss.
|
Compliance risks | |
Inherent risk and uncertainty | Potential downside impact (threats) |
Stakeholder risks: | |
Strategic partnerships and third parties influence the Group's supply, operations and reputation. The Group's ability to control the actions of these parties varies. | Joint venture partners may hinder growth by not agreeing to support investment decisions. For non-managed operations, controlling partners may take action contrary to the Group's interests or standards and policies, resulting in adverse impact to health and safety, performance, reputation or legal liability.
|
The Group's operations are located across a number of jurisdictions, which exposes the Group to a wide range of economic, political and regulatory risks. | Adverse actions by governments and others can result in operational/project delays or loss of licence to operate. Other potential consequences can include expropriation, nationalisation, changes in taxation, as well as currency and foreign investment restrictions. Legal frameworks with respect to policies such as energy, climate change, mineral law and taxation may also change in a way that increases costs.
|
Governance risks: | |
The Group's reputation and regulatory licences are dependent upon appropriate business conduct and are threatened by a public allegation or regulatory investigation. | Fines may be imposed against Group companies for breaching antitrust rules, anti-corruption legislation, sanctions or human rights violations or other inappropriate business conduct.
A serious allegation or formal investigation by regulatory authorities (regardless of ultimate decision) could result in a loss in share price value, and/or loss of business. Other consequences could include the criminal prosecution of individuals, imprisonment and/or personal fines, and reputational damage to the Group. There may also be considerable cost and disruption in responding to allegations or investigations and taking remedial action. |
Responsibility Statements
Each of the current directors, whose names and function are listed on pages 51 to 53 of the Group's 2015 Annual report in the Governance section, confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:
· the Rio Tinto Group financial statements and notes, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the EU, the Corporations Act 2001 as amended by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Order dated 14 December 2015, the UK Companies Act 2006 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and loss of the Group;
· the Rio Tinto plc financial statements and notes, which have been prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the company; and
· the Strategic report section of the Annual report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.