Vale posts profit fall, lifts base metals outlook and unveils buyback

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) landed at $3.68 billion, up 9% year-on-year.

Vale said the increase came due to higher sales across its business segments, which offset a rise in freight and other costs, as well as currency effects.

While the reported figure was below an LSEG adjusted EBITDA forecast of $3.83 billion, analysts noted that, when excluding some non-recurring items, core earnings would stand at $4.07 billion, above their expectations.

Net revenue increased 19% in the period to $10.50 billion, roughly matching expectations of $10.47 billion.

That was boosted by Vale's highest second-quarter output since 2018 — the year before the collapse of a dam in the Brazilian city of Brumadinho, which killed an estimated 270 people and triggered a safety review of the firm's projects.

Brazilian miner Vale posted on Thursday a 35% fall in its second-quarter net profit from a year earlier, while lifting the lower end of its copper and nickel 2026 production outlook range and announcing a new share buyback.

Vale, one of the largest iron ore producers in the world, posted a $1.38 billion net profit for the April-June quarter, below the expected in a LSEG analyst poll, hit by financial effects including derivatives and taxes.