VALE Q1 Revenue Slides, Profit Dips On Lower Iron Ore Prices

VALE S.A. VALE shares are trading lower on Friday. On Thursday, the company reported a decline in first-quarter net operating revenue of 4% year over year (Y/Y) to $8.119 billion, beating the consensus of $8.03 billion.

Sales from Iron ore rose 4% year over year, copper grew 7% year over year, and nickel surged 18% year over year.

The company produced 67.7 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore, which was down 4.5% year over year. Production in the Northern System was constrained by heavy rainfall.

The average realized iron ore fines price declined 10% year over year to $90.8/t due to lower premium levels. Copper and nickel all-in costs stood at $1,212/t and $15,730/t, respectively, in the quarter.

Adjusted EPS of 33 cents missed the consensus of 39 cents. Proforma EBITDA declined 8% Y/Y to $3.2 billion in the quarter due to lower iron ore and nickel prices.

Capital expenditure fell 16% Y/Y to $1.2 billion in the quarter. As of March 31, cash and cash equivalent stood at $3.96 billion.

The company approved $1.979 billion in dividends and interest on capital.

Gustavo Pimenta, CEO, said, "Our value-accretive projects continue to progress, being essential elements towards enhancing our portfolio flexibility and improving operational and cost efficiency."

"Additionally, we have been consistently optimizing our balance sheet through asset-light solutions, such as the transaction that created the strategic joint venture at Alianca Energia, which will also help us deliver on our long-term decarbonization goals.

"The current macroeconomic environment and market volatility reinforce the importance of our Vale 2030 strategy, whereby we are building an even more competitive company that can thrive in any market condition."

Outlook: Vale continues to see iron ore production of 325-335 Mt for FY25 and 340-360 Mt in FY26, driven by the expected full capacity of Vargem Grande 1 and Capanema projects in the first half of 2026.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via VanEck Steel ETF SLX and IShares Latin America 40 ETF ILF.

Price Action: VALE shares are down 0.62% at $9.69 premarket at the last check Friday.

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