VALE - Vale S.A. (VALE) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
2024-02-23 11:40:05 ET
Vale S.A. (VALE)
Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call
February 23, 2024 9:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo – CEO
Gustavo Pimenta – Executive Vice President-Finance and Investor Relations
Marcello Spinelli – Executive Vice President-Iron Ore Solutions
Carlos Medeiros – Executive Vice President-Operations
Mark Cutifani – Chairman-Vale Base Metals
Conference Call Participants
Leonardo Correa – BTG Pactual
Rodolfo Angele – JPMorgan
Daniel Sasson – Itaú BBA
Amos Fletcher – Barclays Bank
Rafael Barcellos – Bradesco BBI
Myles Allsop – UBS
Carlos De Alba – Morgan Stanley
Marcio Farid – Goldman Sachs
Timna Tanners – Wolfe Research
Presentation
Operator
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Vale's Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. This conference is being recorded and the replay will be available at the company's website, vale.com. The presentation is available for download in English and Portuguese. This call is also available in Portuguese. To listen to the presentation in Portuguese, please press the globe icon on the lower right side of your Zoom screen and then choose to enter the Portuguese room. Then select mute original audio, so that you won't hear the English version in the background.
We would like to inform that all participants are currently in a listen-only mode for the presentations. Further instructions will be provided before we begin the question-and-answer section of our call. We would like to advise that forward-looking statements may be provided in this presentation, including Vale's expectations about future events or results encompassing those matters listed in the respective presentation.
We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. To obtain information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, and in particular the factors discussed on the forward-looking statements and risks factors in Vale's annual report on Form 20-F. With us today are Mr. Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo, CEO; Mr. Gustavo Pimenta, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations; Mr. Marcello Spinelli, Executive Vice President, Iron Ore Solutions; Mr. Carlos Medeiros, Executive Vice President of Operations; and Mr. Mark Cutifani, Chairman of Vale Base Metals.
Now I'll turn the conference over to Mr. Eduardo Bartolomeo. Sir, you may now begin.
Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo
Thank you and good morning everyone. I hope you are all doing well. 2023 was a remarkable year for Vale. Our results translated the evolution of our safe-driven cultural transformation and our progress towards operational excellence. We have walked the talk and delivered in line with our guidances. I'm excited that we are now taking Vale to an even higher level of performance to the five key levers we outlined on the last Vale Day. Starting with our safety journey, which in 2023 showed encouraging improvements with the lowest injury frequency rate since 2008 and relevant accomplishments in dam management. Our second lever, the stabilization of our iron ore operations comes to secure our baseline production of 310 million to 320 million tons per year. In that sense, our 2023 production at 321 million tons exceeded expectations and provided evidence of increased asset and process reliability.
On our third lever, growing volumes in iron ore with quality, we gave an important step by starting up our first briquette plant. In addition, our partnership with Anglo America in a world-class operation will bring synergies and make available high-quality feeds for agglomerated products. Gustavo will share more information on that later. In our path to transform the Energy Transition Metals business, copper production had an impressive 50% growth in the fourth quarter. Nickel production was in line with guidance with results benefited by price realization 7% above LME prices in the quarter. In our quest towards ESG leadership in mining, 2023 saw a substantial progress in the reparations of Brumadinho and Mariana. Finally, by announcing a $2.4 billion dividend distribution, we reinforced that our discipline in capital allocation and commitment to shareholder return remains unchanged....
Vale S.A. (VALE) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript