ArcelorMittal says dissident workers still protesting in Mexican plant
ArcelorMittal announced on Thursday the end ofthe blockade at its facilities in the southern state of Michoacan.
Brazil’s Vale SA on Wednesday posted weaker-than-expected net income, as lower base metals production and prices as well as a weaker real currency weighed on the world’s largest iron ore producer.
The miner, also the world’s largest nickel producer, reported $1.408 billion in third-quarter net income, 27 percent below analysts’ estimate of $1.926 billion. The figure was also well below the $2.23 billion reached in the year-ago period.
Heavy spending on Vale’s flagship S11D mine, which churns out rich grades of ore, drove up Vale’s debt in recent years, coinciding with a sharp slide in iron ore prices.
Vale suffered a $1.263 billion net financial loss in the quarter, hammered by a 3.8 percent depreciation in the real currency. Fears that leftist Fernando Haddad might win presidential elections weighed on the currency ahead of a first round of voting in early October.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a gauge of operational profit known as EBITDA, rose to $4.374 billion from $4.192 billion in the same period last year and compared to forecasts for $4.296 billion.
But its base metal component slumped to $528 million in the period, down $250 million from the prior quarter, due to lower nickel, copper and cobalt prices and lower volumes due to a scheduled maintenance shutdown at Sudbury operations in Canada.
Free cash flow reached a robust $3.113 billion, helping Vale cut its debt to $10.704 billion, its lowest since 2009, from $11.519 billion in the second quarter. However, it failed to reach its net debt goal of $10 billion which Chief Executive Officer Fabio Schvartsman forecast in January for the middle of the year.
Vale trimmed its capital expenditures to $692 million in the quarter from $863 million in the same period last year. Net operating revenue rose to $9.543 billion, above the $9.050 billion in the third quarter of 2017. Analysts had expected revenue of $9.456 billion.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Richard Chang)
