【ferro-alloys.com】

  RIO DE JANEIRO - Iron-ore miner Vale SA beat first quarter profit estimates on Monday, with the Brazilian company boosted by a record performance in its ferrous minerals division.

  In a securities filing, Vale reported net income of $5.55-billion, well above the Refinitiv consensus estimate of $5.06-billion. That figure also represented a significant rise in annual and quarterly terms, as the results were less affected by factors such as compensation to victims of the deadly 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster.

  Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, came in at $8.35-billion. That was a slight miss compared to the Refinitiv estimate of $8.4 billion but the company said its pro forma EBITDA figure - scrubbed of some non-recurring items - came to $8.47-billion.

  EBITDA for the company's ferrous minerals division was $7.81 billion, which the company said was an all-time record for the first quarter.

  In comments accompanying the results, Vale noted it fetched a premium for its iron ore fines and pellets of $8.30 per tonne in the first quarter, well above the $4.30 in the fourth quarter, amid strong demand for steel-making ingredients in China and other markets.

  The company reiterated its bullish short-term stance on iron ore, copper and coal, but warned of a "small surplus" in the nickel market amid "resilient production" in China and Indonesia.

• [Editor:Catherine Ren]