(Reuters) - Rio Tinto reported its smallest full-year underlying earnings in five years on Wednesday as lower prices for iron ore outweighed growth in its copper and aluminium businesses.

Iron ore prices moderated last year on weak demand from China's struggling property sector and high portside inventories, which dented the miner's earnings from the steel raw material and offset growth in copper and aluminium segments.

The world's largest iron ore producer reported underlying earnings of $10.87 billion for 2024, compared with $11.76 billion a year ago and Visible Alpha consensus of $11.00 billion.

Rio Tinto, which derives most of its profits from iron ore but is increasingly focusing on copper, declared a final dividend of $2.25 per share, below last year's $2.58 cents.

Full-year dividend payout of $4.02 per share is the lowest since 2019.

(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)