On Thursday, Vale said its plan for the near future is to look for new copper mining options and to stop expanding nickel production capacity in the wake of abysmal second-quarter net income, rising costs and tanking iron prices.
The report from Reuters points out Vale’s second-quarter net income was down 99 per cent over last year, falling to just $16 million from $1.1 billion the year before, and well below the average estimate of $421 million.
When it comes to debt, the Brazilian firm’s net debt fell three per cent to $22.12 billion in the three months leading up to June, a long way from the target of $15 billion to $17 billion in 2018 Vale is shooting for.
To reduce costs, Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman said the company would stop investing new money into its Caledonia nickel mine. Vale also aims to narrow its iron ore output forecast and continue capital spending cuts, which were down 31 per cent in the second quarter.
The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rose 16 per cent to $2.73 billion.
