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Rio Tinto Interim Results 2021 In exceptional market conditions , Rio Tinto achieves record financial results and declares total interim dividend of 561 US cents per share , 75 % of underlying earnings 28 July 2021 Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said " Government stimulus in response to ongoing COVID - 19 pressures has driven strong demand for our products at a time of constrained supply resulting in a significant spike in most prices . We focused on safely running our world - class assets and supplying products to our customers . This enabled us , despite operational challenges , to deliver record financial results with free cash flow of $ 10.2 billion and underlying earnings of $ 12.2 billion , after taxes and government royalties of $ 7.3 billion . We are further strengthening the portfolio with our commitment to fund the high - quality Jadar lithium project , which signals our large - scale entry into the fast - growing battery materials market . We will pay an interim dividend of 561 US cents per share , representing 75 % of underlying earnings . " We are making progress on our four priorities , identifying opportunities for operational improvement , advancing our ESG agenda , taking important investment decisions and stepping up our external engagement . We are making real and lasting changes to the way we engage , interact and operate and are committed to ensuring that we have strong and positive relationships wherever we do business . We have identified what we need to do to make Rio Tinto a better company for the long term , with the right teams in place to unleash our full potential . " Six months ended 30 June Net cash generated from operating activities ( US $ millions ) Capital expenditure¹ ( US $ millions ) Free cash flow² ( US $ millions ) Consolidated sales revenue ( US $ millions ) Underlying EBITDA² ( US $ millions ) Underlying earnings² ( US $ millions ) Net earnings ( US $ millions ) Underlying earnings² per share ( US cents ) Ordinary dividend per share ( US cents ) Special dividend per share ( US cents ) Total dividend per share ( US cents ) Underlying return on capital employed ( ROCE ) ² 2021 13,661 3,336 10,181 33,083 21,037 12,166 12,313 751.9 376.0 185.0 561.0 50 % 2020 5,628 2,693 2,809 19,362 9,640 4,750 3,316 293.7 155.0 0.0 155.0 21 % Change 143 % 24 % 262 % 71 % 118 % 156 % 271 % 156 % 143 % n / a 262 % At 31 December 2020 At 30 June 2021 Net cash / ( debt ) ² ( US $ millions ) 3,140 ( 664 ) Our financial results are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS ) and are unaudited - see page 39 for further information . Footnotes are set out on page 3 . • Our colleague Nico Swart was tragically killed in a shooting incident whilst driving to work at Richards Bay Minerals ( RBM ) in South Africa on 24 May . Our sympathies are with Nico's family and we are offering ongoing support to his family , friends and colleagues . • We continue to prioritise the safety of our people and communities and have now exceeded 30 months without a fatality on site . However , our all injury frequency rate ( AIFR ) of 0.39 has seen a slight increase versus 2020 first half ( 0.37 ) . Our new leadership team is now fully in place and focused on driving forward our four priorities . We are developing a large volume of work taking a company - wide , bottom - up and people - centric approach as we look to embed real and sustainable changes to the way we operate and engage . In the first half , we sustained our efforts to earn back trust and strengthen our social licence . We continue rebuilding our relationships with Traditional Owners in the Pilbara and engaged extensively with government representatives , business leaders , current and former Rio Tinto employees and our shareholders . The insights from these meetings are helping us improve how we operate and effectively and respectfully engage in a collaborative manner wherever we operate . Page 1 • $ 13.7 billion net cash generated from operating activities was 143 % higher than 2020 first half , mainly due to higher pricing for iron ore , aluminium and copper .