UPDATE: Rio Tinto Reports 30% Surge In Net Profit

Rio Tinto Plc

reported a 30% rise in its first-half net profit. Rio Tinto reported its net profit at $7.59 billion. Its revenue surged to $29.1 billion, from $24.5 billion, in the year-ago period. It also increased its share buy-back program by $2 billion to $7 billion. RIO shares dropped 4.13% to $64.36 in pre-market trading.