Vale SA posted its first quarterly decline in profit in two years during the third quarter.
Third-quarter net income fell to $4.94 billion, or 94 cents a share, from $6.04 billion, or $1.13 a share, a year earlier, according to an article from the news agency Bloomberg.
The article attributes the profit hit to the decline in the Brazilian currency, known as the real, a slump in iron-ore prices and fear that the European debt crisis will spread.
The company said in the article it’s confident in the long-term outlook for mineral and metals markets amid global financial turmoil.
“We foresee prices to remain high for a long period ahead as the global iron-ore market is very likely to continue to show strong fundamentals,” Vale said in a statement. “The main reason for the decline in the net income was the depreciation of the real against the dollar.”
Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen
