Vale SA announced Feb. 10 its fourth-quarter net income increased 11 percent to $1.52 billion, or 28 cents a share, from $1.37 billion, or 26 cents, in the year-earlier period.
A Feb. 11 article by Bloomberg said the financial results aren't as good as 13 analysts' estimates compiled earlier by the news organization. They said the net income would rise by 31 cents a share.
Iron-ore and nickel volumes declined during the quarter as falling Chinese demand for iron and strikes at nickel mines cut exports, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Rodolfo De Angele reportedly said in a note to clients.
Strikes at Vale's Canadian operations, including Sudbury, also boosted costs because of the expenses of restarting production, he said. Vale had a $236 million expense related to the nickel unit strike in Canada.
The company will likely recover after a “transition quarter” and “is still a solid value story,” said De Angele.
Vale declined 1.14 reais, or 2.7 percent, to 41.06 reais in Sao Paulo trading at 9:26 a.m. New York time.
