Rio Tinto to Appoints Jean-Sebastien as Chief Executive, Sam Walsh Retires,

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh is to retire in July after just three years in the top job.

Sam Walsh

He will be succeeded by the firm's coal and copper head Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who used to be a strategy director at Tata Steel Group.

The world's second-largest miner has been struggling to maintain profits amid a slump in commodity prices.

Rio Tinto drops maintainance, as cuts profits dividend flat

Rio Tinto Group has dropped its policy of maintaining or raising dividends each year as lower commodity prices cut its annual profit by 51%.

Underlying earnings fell to $4.54bn (£3.13bn) in 2015, from $9.31bn a year earlier.

 

Rio has held its full-year dividend at $2.15 a share, while the 2016 payout will be no less than $1.10 a share.

It said it was "no longer appropriate to maintain the progressive dividend policy".