Sao Paulo, Brazil-based iron ore mining company and flat-rolled steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) announced Thursday Q3 net income of 1.097 billion reais (US$630 million), a 49 percent increase from 738 million reais (US$436 million) a year earlier, but a 4 percent drop from 1.137 billion reais (US$672 million) in Q2 2011.
Revenues from CSN's steel operations were about 53 percent of total income in Q3, with mining constituting about 36 percent. Higher sales volumes and prices for iron ore drove earnings in Q3, as sales increased 13 percent year-on-year to 7.9 million metric tons. Meanwhile, year-on-year steel sales fell 1 percent in Q3.