Brazil miner Vale 4th quarter profit up, 2007 record

Brazil's CVRD, one of the world's top three miners, posted on Thursday a fourth-quarter net profit 29 per cent higher than a year ago, boosting 2007 earnings to a new record on higher output and iron ore prices.

Vale, the world's biggest iron ore producer, said in a statement it netted 4.4 billion reals ($2.6 billion in the last quarter of 2007 and 20 billion reals for the whole of last year under Brazilian accounting rules.

The full-year profit rose 49 per cent.

Vale, which is in negotiations to buy Swiss rival Xstrata, a transaction that could be worth more than 90 billion U.S. USA, called the results "healthy, low-risk debt."

It said that profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell to 6.43 billion reals from 7.96 billion reals in the same period of 2006, in accordance with Brazilian accounting rules, as a fall in nickel and copper prices weighed.

However, in accordance with GAAP USA, Wale sent forth-quarter profit of almost $2.6 billion EBITDA in the United States and $3.5 billion, which is sharply from a previous $1.6 billion and $2.6 billion dollars respectively.

Profit exceeded most forecasts. Analysts agency Reuters polled expected, on average, a U.S. GAAP net of about $2.3 billion and EBITDA of $3.9 billion for the fourth quarter.