Vale ( NYSE: VALE ) said late Thursday its Q3 net profit fell from the same quarter last year, thumped by a sharp decline in iron ore prices and lingering inflation, but the result still beat analyst expectations .
Q3 net income of $4.45B, or $0.98/share, came in 19% below $5.5B reported in the year-ago quarter but easily topped the Refinitiv forecast of $0.57/share, and revenues fell 19.5% Y/Y to $9.93B, well short of last year's $12.3B as well as the $10.2B consensus estimate.
Q3 adjusted EBIT plunged 47% Y/Y to $3.7B, well below the $4.6B analyst consensus.
Vale's ( VALE ) Q3 average realized price for iron ore tumbled to $92.6/metric ton from $127.2 in the same period last year, its average realized price for iron ore fines fell to $103.3/ton from $162.9 a year earlier, and its average realized price for iron ore pellets slid to $194.3/ton from $249.9 a year ago.
The company produced more iron ore than expected during Q3 at 89.7M tons, but sales lagged output.
Vale's ( VALE ) drop-off from last year's results comes as iron ore prices have fallen to two-and-a-half year lows .
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Vale's Q3 net profit slides from last year on iron ore price weakness