Brazilian iron ore producer Vale reported Thursday that the company’s net loss in the fourth quarter of 2014 increased 71.8 percent to $1.8 billion from a $1.2 billion loss a year ago.
Despite registering an 83 million mt iron ore production total in Q4, Vale saw iron ore prices fall in 2014 by 47 percent, as a result of a strong supply of the product in the global markets.
In Q4, Vale’s average iron prices reached $61.50/mt, a 48.2 decrease from the $118.77 iron ore average price registered in Q4 2013.
Vale net sales declined 31 percent to $9 billion in Q4, the company reported, while the company’s full-year 2014 net profit was $657 million, a 12.5 percent increase year-on-year.