"Our business performed well in 2012, generating strong cash flows and underlying earnings of $9.3bn," said Rio chairman Jan du Plessis.
"However, we are deeply disappointed by the $14.4bn writedowns that we have taken in 2012, primarily in our aluminium and energy businesses, which led to the group recording a net loss of $3bn."
The results for the 12 months to December 31 compares with profits of $5.83bn last year.
Sam Walsh, the incoming chief executive who is to formally replace Mr Albanese in July, said the company was targeting cash savings of more than $5bn by the end of 2014 and reducing capital expenditure to $13bn this year.
"My immediate priority is to build more focus, discipline and accountability throughout the organisation," said Mr Walsh, promising "aggressive" cost-cutting.
"Demonstrating this commitment, we will deliver our capital reduction and cost savings targets and improve performance across our business."
Rio said the full-year loss - its first since becoming a dual listed company in 1995 - had also been due to a dip in commodity prices which had wiped $5.3 billion off the bottom line.
Iron ore plunged 24pc compared with 2011, copper was 10pc lower and aluminium was down 16pc.
The aluminium arm has long been a problem for Rio Tinto, after it bought Canadian company Alcan for $38bn in 2007, just before the market crashed.
An impairment charge of $8.9bn from the aluminium business saw Mr Albanese forgo his bonus last year, and Rio said conditions in the aluminium market had worsened further in 2012 due to high costs and currency swings.
Under his watch, Mr Walsh said Rio would have an "unrelenting focus on pursuing greater value for shareholders," promising to invest only in projects that offer "attractive returns that are well above our cost of capital".
The new chief offered an upbeat assessment of global prospects, saying Rio saw "the positive momentum in the fourth quarter of last year being sustained into 2013 with Chinese GDP growth returning to above 8pc".
However, he warned that Rio did expect "market uncertainty and price volatility to persist as long as the structural issues in Europe and the United States remain unresolved".
Rio said industry-wide cost pressures had also weighed on earnings, particularly the price of energy.
The mining giant offered shareholders a $1.67 dividend - 15pc higher than last year - which Mr Du Plessis said reflected confidence in its prospects.
A slowdown in China and debt strains in Europe and the United States have weighed on mining companies in the past 12 months, with projects delayed or shelved as commodity prices have plunged on a drop in demand.
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