Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
BEIJING, Jan 22 (Reuters) –
* Aluminum Corp of China, the country’s biggest state-run aluminium firm, says 2017 profits rise more than tenfold, without providing a profit figure
* Company, known as Chinalco, made 1.9 billion yuan ($297 million) operational profit in 2016
* Says revenue grew 17.5 percent to more than 310 billion yuan and company was profitable in all business segments in 2017, hailing its best set of results in 10 years
* Chinalco cashed in on higher aluminium prices by bringing new capacity online while its Chinese rivals were forced to close units
* Says debt-to-asset ratio falls by more than 20 percent and is now below the average of state-owned enterprises in China
($1 = 6.4009 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Tom Daly; editing by Jason Neely)
