Rio Tinto headlines recently have been about another mishap, this time losing a radioactive container somewhere in the outback, so the mining titan will probably be glad to talk about numbers again.
And results this evening are likely to echo those of rival and partner BHP, which alongside a drop in profits also flagged a brightening outlook for its biggest customer, China.
Rio and BHP work together at the iron ore powerhouses of Pilbara, Western Australia, and at the Escondida copper mine in Chile.
UK-based Rio recently also agreed to take full control of the huge Oyo Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.
After a rough early part of 2022, things have started to look a lot brighter as China has started to emerge from its Covid lockdowns.
BHP recently gave up its FTSE 100 membership when it switched domicile back to Australia, so Rio is now the effective bulk metals proxy for UK institutions.
Perhaps reflecting that and the prospect of Chinese demand returning, shares in Rio have jumped almost 40% from their November low of last year, bumping its market value back up to around £75bn.
BHP’s numbers were a tad disappointing but consensus forecasts for Rio are full-year profits of US$26.5bn and an ordinary dividend of 475c, giving a yield of 6.3% at 6,217p.
Some analysts suggest it should be paying out more, but forecasts are for profits to fall to around US$24.6bn this year, which might be why it is being relatively cautious.