RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian miner Vale SA’s most closely watched earnings metric for the fourth quarter came in far below expectations due to provisions related to the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, rose 20% to $4.2 billion in the quarter, well below a Refinitiv consensus estimate of $8.4 billion.
The Brumadinho disaster refers to the bursting of a Vale-owned dam which killed 270 people. Stripped of those provisions, EDBITA would have come to $9.1 billion.
Its results were buoyed by stronger sales prices for iron ore, its main product, as well as nickel and copper.
Vale also reported net income of $739 million, down significantly in quarterly terms but up from a loss in the same period last year.
Reporting by Gram Slattery and Roberto Samora; Editing by Edwina Gibbs