São Paulo – The Brazilian mining company Vale posted R$ 797 million in revenues from exports to the Middle East in Q1 this year, up 3.2% from the same period last year. Compared with Q4 2013, however, revenues were down 24%. The figures have been released by the company this Wednesday (30th).
In US dollars, sales to the region amounted to US$ 338 million, down 1.56% from Q1 2013 and down 26.2% from Q4 2013. The region accounts for 3.5% of the company’s overall revenues. Vale owns an iron ore pelletizing plant and a maritime terminal in Oman, on the Arabian Peninsula.
The discrepancy between performance in real and US dollar is due to exchange rate fluctuations in the periods at hand.
Vale posted total revenues of R$ 22.8 billion, up 5.5% from the same period last year. Compared to Q4 2013, revenues are down 24.6%. In US dollars, revenues stood at US$ 9.7 billion, down 10.8% from Q1 2013 and 27.1% from Q4 2013.
Revenues declined in Q1 this year from Q4 last year because, according to Vale, the iron ore sales volume fell short of its full potential, although the company had its highest quarterly iron ore output since 2008: 71 million tonnes. According to the company, the commodity’s price also dropped.
The company also reported an EBITDA of R$ 9.6 billion, down 8% from Q1 2013 and 36.8% from Q4 2013. In US dollars, the EBITDA was slightly above US$ 4 billion, down 22.2% from Q1 2013 and 39% from Q4. EBITDA is the acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Vale posted R$ 5.91 billion in net income, down 4.7% from Q1 2013. In Q4, the company posted a net loss of R$ 14.9 billion. The negative Q4 result stemmed from the company’s entry into the Brazilian federal government’s program for instalment payments of outstanding tax debts, named Refis.
In US dollars, Vale posted a net income of US$ 2.515 billion, down 19.1% from Q1 2013; in Q4 2013, the company posted losses of US$ 6.451 billion.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
