Brazil’s Vale Profit Falls 53% to US$1.25B
Brazilian miner Vale reported US$1.255 billion in third-quarter profit on Thursday 29 October 2026, down 53% from a year earlier, on weaker iron ore prices. The post Brazil’s Vale Profit Falls 53% to US$1.25B appeared first on The Rio Times .
Brazil's mining giant Vale reported a 53% drop in profit for the third quarter of 2026, bringing its earnings to US$1.255 billion. This was significantly lower than the US$2.685 billion the company earned in the same quarter last year. Vale is one of the world's largest iron ore producers and its shares closed at a 12-month low on the same day as the report was released.
The main factors behind the profit decline were lower iron ore prices, which fell by 10% to US$85.1 a tonne, and higher costs due to the strengthening Brazilian real. Production of iron ore decreased by 6% to 88.4 million tonnes, mainly because of lower availability at the Serra Norte mine. However, copper and nickel sales improved, with prices rising 56% and 16.1% respectively.
Free cash flow was US$2.23 billion, but recurring free cash flow was lower at US$1.373 billion. The company paid US$1.676 billion in dividends and interest on capital to shareholders during the quarter, marking a slight increase from the previous year. Vale maintained its 2026 targets for iron ore production, which it expects to be at the lower end of the range of 335 million to 345 million tonnes.
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