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Vale (VALE) Earnings Surpass Estimates in Q4, Dip Y/Y

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Vale S.A. (VALE - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings per share of 82 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 63 cents. The company had reported earnings per share of $1.42 in the year-ago quarter. Lower iron ore prices mainly led to the drop in earnings.

Including one-time items, the company had reported earnings per share of $1.07 in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Revenues

Net operating revenues declined 9% year over year to $11.9 billion. The top line, however, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.5 billion.

Net operating revenues at Iron Solutions declined 13% year over year to $9.3 billion due to lower iron ore prices. Energy Transition Metals’ net operating revenues gained 15% to $2.55 billion on higher year-over-year sales volume for nickel. Also, elevated nickel prices than the last-year quarter helped offset the impact of lower copper prices.

VALE S.A. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

VALE S.A. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

VALE S.A. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | VALE S.A. Quote

Operating Performance

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the cost of goods sold totaled $7.2 billion, up 10% year over year. The gross profit plunged 28% year over year to $4.8 billion. The gross margin was 40.1% compared with 50.4% in the prior-year quarter.

Selling, general and administrative expenditure moved up 13% year over year to $1489 million. Research and evaluation expenses climbed 23% to $218 million from the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted operating income was $3.7 billion in the reported quarter. The figure indicated a 5% decline from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $4.6 billion in the reported quarter compared with $4.7 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Pro-forma adjusted EBITDA (excluding expenses related to Brumadinho and COVID) plunged 27% year over year to $5 billion.

Iron Solutions’ adjusted EBITDA was $4.7 billion, reflecting a 26% downfall from the last-year quarter. Energy Transition Metals EBITDA moved down to $775 million from $811 million in the prior-year quarter.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Vale exited 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of $4.7 billion compared with $11.7 billion at the end of last year. Cash flow from operations was $11.4 billion in 2022 compared with $26 billion in 2021.

Gross debt at the end of 2022 was $11.2 billion compared with $12.2 billion at the end of 2021. Vale paid out $12.6 billion as dividends, interest on capital and share repurchases in 2022.

2022 Performance

Vale reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.61, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.01. Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of $4.05 in 2022 compared with $4.47 in 2021. Net operating revenues slumped 20% year over year to $43.8 billion but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $43.6 billion.

Net operating revenues declined 9% year over year to $11.9 billion. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.5 billion.

Price Performance

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

In the past year, shares of Vale have gained 2.3%, in line with the industry.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Vale currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are CalMaine Foods, Inc. (CALM - Free Report) , Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) and Teck Resources Limited (TECK - Free Report) . CALM and RS currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and TECK carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CalMaine Foods’ fiscal 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $16.75, suggesting 515.8% growth from the year-ago reported figure. Earnings estimates have moved 106.8% north in the past 60 days. CALM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.3%, on average. Its shares have gained 43.6% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Reliance Steel’s earnings per share is pegged at $18.26 for 2023. Earnings estimates have been revised 7.4% upward in the past 60 days. RS has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 13.4%, on average. The company has gained 41.7% in a year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Teck Resources’ 2022 earnings per share is pegged at $6.89, suggesting 52.43% growth from the year-ago reported figure. Earnings estimates have moved 0.7% north in the past 60 days. TECK has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.7%, on average. Its shares have gained 24.4% in the past year.


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