OREANDA-NEWS. Improvements to our operational performance and financial indicators in the third quarter of this year were the highlights of the conference calls with investors and journalists held on November 7, the day after we announced our quarterly results. Click here to replay the meeting with the press, which featured our CEO Murilo Ferreira, executive directors Luciano Siani (Finance and Investor Relations), Jose Carlos Martins (Ferrous and Strategy) and Roger Downey (Fertilizers and Coal), and Chief Consultant Clovis Torres.

Murilo Ferreira highlighted the recovery in iron ore production, record shipments of iron ore and pellets, and strong performance in base metals, and he also stressed the importance of the company's commitment to disciplined capital allocation. “We reduced our general expenses by nearly 42% in 2013. This is the result of the entire team's efforts, making the company even more competitive,” he said.

Long-term prospects for reducing costs

Our CEO also talked about the continuity of the disinvestment policy, which Vale will continue to implement in a cautious manner, as well as attention to the company's cash flow, which is fundamental to keeping the focus of investment on world-class assets. “Projects such as S11D and the Nacala Corridor in Mozambique demand heavy investment, and so we need to manage our capital allocation attentively,” he added.

On this same topic, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Executive Director Luciano Siani highlighted the company's long-term prospects for cost reduction and production. “We have prospects for reducing pre-operating expenses on various projects, such as in New Caledonia,” he said.

He also commented on the completion of a number of projects in the third quarter, such as Additional 40, and the start-up of another three projects scheduled for this year: Conceicao Itabiritos, in Minas Gerais, and Long Harbour and Totten, both in Canada. According to Siani, these initiatives, added to S11D, which is scheduled to start up in 2016, represent good prospects for increasing production and reducing costs.

China remains major iron ore market

Another subject discussed in the conference calls was international demand for iron ore and Chinese growth. Ferrous and Strategy Executive Director Jose Carlos Martins talked about the Asian country's performance this year and its future prospects.

“This year, we predicted a 2% rise in Chinese demand for iron ore, and the actual rise has been 8%, surprising optimists and confounding the pessimists. The country is still doing a lot of infrastructure and construction work, boosting the steel market. We expect growth of 3% in 2014. This investment wave in the country will go on for some time,” said Martins.