São Paulo – One of the destinations that contributed to the record in sales of Brazilian mining giant Vale in 2011 was the Middle East. Company figures disclosed on Wednesday (15), show that Vale sold R$ 2.368 billion (US$ 1.369 billion) to the region in 2011, 9.2% more than the R$ 2.168 billion (US$ 1.254 billion) registered in 2010.
Although the revenues with sales to the Middle East have grown, the share of these countries in total revenues has dropped: from 2.5% in 2010 to 2.2% last year. According to Vale figures, the Middle East purchased 6.9 million tonnes of ore and pellets in 2011. In the four quarters of last year, the company shipped 2.5 million tonnes of ore to the region, 66.6% more than recorded in the same period in 2010: 1.5 million tonnes.
Apart from exporting products to the region, Vale has a pellet production unit in Oman that started operating in May 2011. Established in partnership with Oman Oil Company, at the industrial complex in Sohar, it has two pelleting units. Each one is capable of producing 4.5 million metric tonnes a year.
With regard to the financial crisis, the company stated that there was deceleration in European purchases. However, according to company figures, other regions helped Vale recover from the lower European demand. "We were capable of compensating the contracted demand in Europa, establishing new record figures for Q4 [the fourth quarter], increasing sales to Asia, the Middle East and other regions,” says the document.
In 2011, Vale had record profit. In total, the company had revenues of R$ 105.5 billion (US$ 61 billion), 23.6% more than the R$ 85.345 billion (US$ 49.3 billion) of 2010 and more than double the revenues of 2009, the year of recovery from the crisis, in which sales reached R$ 49.812 billion (US$ 28.8 billion). The company’s net profit reached R$ 37.814 billion (US$ 21.9 billion) in 2011, 25.7% more than the R$ 30.070 billion (US$ 17.4 billion) in 2010.
In a press conference, the president at Vale, Murilo Ferreira, said that the first quarter of the year should not maintain the rhythm of recent months due to the global slowdown. However, he forecasts growth in sales in the middle of the year. "We had already said that we expected a pale fourth quarter in 2011 and first quarter in 2012. We would not have the vigour observed, but are optimistic with regard to the second and third quarters of this year. Relaxation may be noticed in the macroprudential measures in China, and a lightening of the monetary policy may be identified,” said Ferreira.
*Translated by Mark Ament
