Vale (NYSE: VALE) posted a loss of $1.68 billion in 2019, compared to a net income of $6.860 billion in 2018, the Brazilian miner on Thursday.
The $8.5 billion decrease was mostly driven by provisions and expenses related to the Brumadinho dam rupture that killed more than 230 people in January 2019.
鈥淲e have鈥� an effective reparation program, relevant governance and operational improvements, and a 鈥� process by which the structure of a dam is reincorporated into the relief and the environment 鈥� plan for our upstream tailings dams under accelerated implementation鈥� said CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo in the media release.
鈥淲e are de-risking Vale. We are paving the way to make our business better, safer and more stable,鈥� he said.
Vale reported a $1.56 billion net loss in the fourth quarter
Vale reported a $1.56 billion net loss in the fourth quarter. A Refinitiv poll of analysts had predicted a net profit of $2.61 billion.
That miss was largely due to a $2.51 billion impairment at its nickel mine in New Caledonia, where Vale has revised down expected production levels due to 鈥渃hallenging issues鈥� related to 鈥減roduction and processing.鈥�
Vale also recognized a $1.69 billion charge at a coal mine in Mozambique for similar reasons and a previously announced $671 million charge to 鈥渄echaracterize鈥� some dams similar to the one that burst last year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted for some one-off items, totaled $3.53 billion. Vale said EBITDA was hit by about $900 million in Brumadinho-related provisions.
(With files from Reuters)