Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo (Reuters) -Brazilian Miner Vale reported a 17% reduction in its first -quarter net profit on Thursday, hit by lower iron ore prices despite better costs.
Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore producers, posted a net profit of $ 1.39 billion for the quarter through March, losing a consensus estimate of $ 1.68 billion by analysts surveyed by LSEG.
The company said earnings were hit by a deterioration in iron ore prices but the impact was partially offset by its production costs measures and Brazilian Real Appreciation against the US dollar.
“We had a steady start to the year, aligned with our objectives for management in 2025,” said CEO Gustavo Pimenta in the earnings report, noting a good cost momentum.
The Vale posted customized core profit as measured by ears before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at $ 3.12 billion, down 9% and close to the $ 3.16 billion expected of analysts.
The results came in line with cost expectations and performance was the highlight, ITI analysts said BBA. However, they added that “lower realized prices are more than offset the improvement in volumes and lower costs in the annual comparison”.
The cost of cash C1 ballet fell from iron ore fines, which measures production costs from the mines to the ports, 11% in the quarter to $ 21 per tonne.
The miner's operational report last week showed the production of iron ore volume decreasing by 4.5% due to heavy rainfall in Brazil, although the Vale can increase the number of sales with a supply of inventories.
Yet, a 16% reduction in the market reference prices of iron ore, the main product of Vale, weighed its own sales prices and resulted in a net revenue decline of 4% to $ 8.12 billion, slightly higher than the analyst estimate of $ 8.03 billion.
Santander analysts said Vale introduced “solid active figures” but they were “already priced in”.
(Reported by Marta Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; edited by Brendan O'Boyle and Rashmi aich)