Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) has committed an additional US$2.50bn to its ongoing share buyback programme as it returns the proceeds from its recent sale of Coal & Allied to shareholders.
The additional commitment means the global miner has announced share buybacks totalling US$4.00bn in 2017 alone, following previous announcements in August and February this year.
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In a statement, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, chief executive of the FTSE 100-listed firm said: “Shareholder returns of this scale are made possible by maintaining the strongest balance sheet in the sector and a disciplined capital allocation process.”
Rio Tinto completed the sale of Coal & Allied Industries on the first day of September, after Yancoal Australia Ltd agreed to pay US$2.69bn for the business.