概述：淡水河谷第二季度公布其净收入达38.3亿美元，比上年增长了约384%。淡水河谷铁矿石从年度定价模式转为季度定价为其带来了相当可观的利润。

    Miner Vale profit to soar five-fold on iron pricing

   * What: Second-quarter results for Brazil’s Vale

 * When: Thursday, July 29, after markets close

 * Analysts see Vale profit soaring from year earlier

   By Brian Ellsworth

   RIO DE JANEIRO, July 26 (Reuters) - Net income at Brazilian
mining company Vale probably soared nearly five-fold in the
second quarter on higher iron prices, as a new quarterly
pricing system allows it to vastly increase the sale price of
its ore.

   The world’s largest producer of iron ore is expected to
post net income of $3.83 billion when it reports second-quarter
earnings after markets close on Thursday, according to the
average estimate of six analysts -- an increase of 384 percent
over the previous year.

   Vale (VALE.N)(VALE5.SA) this year moved to a quarterly
pricing system after the aging annual benchmark mechanism
unraveled amid quarrels with China -- the world’s largest buyer
of the metal.

   The year-on-year jump was helped by the global economic
recovery that boosted commodities prices from mid-2009 levels,
as well as by higher sales volumes of iron ore and pellets.

   Profits likely soared 139 percent from the previous
quarter, driven by an increase of around 100 percent in iron
sale prices as a result of moving to the quarterly system.

   "We’re looking at two excellent quarters for Vale, the
second (quarter) will bring almost double the price for iron
ore and the third (quarter) will bring an increase of another
35 percent," said Felipe Reis, an analyst with Banco
Santander.

   Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization, or EBITDA, likely rose by a massive 254 percent
over the same quarter a year earlier, to $6.11 billion. EBITDA
is a widely used gauge of a company’s ability to generate
profits from its business.

   The new pricing system allowed Vale to take full advantage
of soaring spot market prices for the steel-making ingredient
as massive infrastructure and industry build-out in developing
nations -- most notably China -- boosted global demand.

   Iron prices are now mostly set each quarter based on the
spot prices of the previous three months. Spot market iron
prices .IO62-CNI=SI topped $180 per tonne earlier this year
but have fallen to near $125 as concerns about global growth
pushed commodities down.

   Maintaining the benchmark, under which steelmakers agreed
on iron prices with top global miners Vale, BHP Billiton
(BHP.AX) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), proved to be impossible with
the emergence of a spot market driven by Chinese buyers.

   Speculators for months were able to buy cheap ore on the
benchmark and resell it on the spot market, costing the miners
billions of dollars in lost revenue each quarter.

   Benchmark talks unraveled in 2009 after China arrested,
and later convicted, Rio Tinto employees on charges of
accepting bribes and stealing state secrets.

   The table below shows average estimates of five analysts
for Vale’s second-quarter results, in U.S. dollars under U.S.
accounting standards.
===============================================================

 F’CAST          2010          2010       2009          CHANGE

               2ND QTR      1ST QTR     2ND QTR       YR VS YR
===============================================================
Net Revenue   $10.55 BLN   $6.85 BLN   $5.08 BLN      107.4 pct
EBITDA        $6.11 BLN    $2.86 BLN   $1.73 BLN      254.4 pct
Net Profit    $3.83 BLN    $1.60 BLN   $.79 BLN       384.4 pct
===============================================================