On October 28, Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. (Vale) announced its results for the third quarter of 2009, returning to growth after the impact of the global financial shock.
According to the statement released by Vale, the world's largest producer and exporter of iron ore and pellets, in the third quarter of 2009 the company's net profit increased to $1.68 billion, up 112.3 percent compared to a net profit of $790 million in the previous quarter of the current year, but down 65.2 percent compared to Q3 2008.
The iron ore giant, which is also the world's second largest nickel producer, said that in the third quarter of 2009, its operating revenue rose by 35.58 percent to $6.89 billion, compared with $5.084 billion in the previous quarter, while the company had registered $12.12 billion in operating revenue in the third quarter of 2008.
In the third quarter of this year, the company's sales to Europe increased their share to 17.7 percent of total revenues from 13.1 percent in Q2 2009, which is explained by the rise of iron ore and pellet shipments to the region. Asia continued to be the main destination of Vale's sales, although its share declined to 56.4 percent in the third quarter from 58.1 percent in the previous quarter. The Americas accounted for 24.2 percent of total revenues and the rest of the world 1.7 percent.
Meanwhile, on a country basis, China is the leading market, responsible for 37.3 percent of the company's revenues, Brazil 15.5 percent, Japan 9.8 percent, Germany 4.2 percent, South Korea 3.8 percent and the USA 3.7 percent.
In the quarter in question, Vale's operational earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decreased to $3.014 billion, up 74.7 percent compared to $1.725 billion in the second quarter of 2009 and down 52.7 percent compared to $6.374 billion in the third quarter of 2008. In addition, its operational EBIT margin, a key profitability measure, increased to 34.2 percent in the third quarter, compared to 19.7 percent in the second quarter of the current year and compared to 47.2 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
On the other hand, the company reported its production results under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) as follows:
Product (1,000 mt) | 3Q 08 | 2Q 09 | 3Q 09 | Jan-Sept 08 | Jan-Sept 09 | % Change | % Change | % Change |
83,252 | 57,656 | 64,153 | 232,160 | 168,562 | 11.3 | 22.9 | 27.4 | |
Pellets | 9,514 | 2,700 | 5,180 | 26,927 | 9,616 | 91.8 | 45.6 | 64.3 |
Manganese ore | 694 | 550 | 449 | 1,892 | 1,112 | 18.2 | -35.2 | -41.2 |
Ferroalloys | 130 | 27 | 59 | 391 | 135 | 116.5 | -54.5 | -65.5 |
Nickel | 72 | 59 | 33 | 202 | 157 | -44.7 | -54.9 | -224 |
Metallurgical coal | 686 | 513 | 844 | 2,104 | 1,869 | 64.5 | 23 | -11.2 |