概述：淡水河谷第三季度未計(jì)利息、稅項(xiàng)、折舊及攤銷前盈利達(dá)88億美元，較2008年第三季度64億美元上漲24億美元，較今年上季度56億美元漲32億美元。第三季度，粉礦均價(jià)上漲39%。業(yè)內(nèi)分析師表示，中國鋼材需求遠(yuǎn)未飽和，鐵礦石的高度需求以及季度定價(jià)模式將為淡水河谷帶來豐富利潤。另外，其董事會撇清謠言，表示Roger Agnelli仍擔(dān)任淡水河谷CEO，
Rise in ore demand powers Vale
A rebound in global demand for iron ore and a new pricing regime helped Vale of Brazil, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, post record profits, revenues and margins in the third quarter.
Vale said cash generation, measured by adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, debt and amortisation, had risen to $8.8bn, well above its previous record of $6.4bn in the third quarter of 2008 and the $5.6bn reported in the second quarter of this year.
This year, Vale and the world’s other big iron ore miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped their traditional benchmark system of one-year contracts and replaced it with quarterly price adjustments linked to the Chinese iron ore spot market. The new system delivered price increases of 90-100 per cent in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, average prices for iron ore fines rose a further 39 per cent.
Net earnings were a record $6bn, up from $3.7bn in the second quarter and $1.7bn in the third quarter of 2009. Vale also announced best-ever operating revenues of $14.5bn, against $6.9bn in the same period last year, and ebit margins of 55 per cent.
“We’re seeing an extremely favourable environment in terms of prices and demand for iron ore producers at the moment,” said Pedro Galdi, mining analyst at SLW Corretora, a São Paulo brokerage.
“China is proving that it needs Brazil’s high-quality iron ore. Because of a solid strategy through the crisis, Vale is one of the main beneficiaries of this.”
In a note to clients, Leonardo Correa, mining analyst at Barclays Capital in São Paulo, said the better-than-expected results reflected rising demand, especially in China, stricter cost control and higher realised prices.
Vale said shipments to China rose to 46 per cent of its total, as compared with 39 per cent in the second quarter. It said China’s plan to build 5.8m homes in the low-income housing segment would further sustain demand for iron ore, and steel consumption in the country had not yet peaked.
Mr Galdi said Vale should benefit “for decades” from China’s development and its need to supplement its inferior iron ore.
The record results came as Brazil’s largest company is trying to dispel rumours of conflicts with the government, which has substantial indirect shareholdings in Vale and holds “golden shares”. Vale on Tuesday issued a statement denying that board members had discussed the possibility of replacing Roger Agnelli, chief executive.
(來源：FT.com)
