Vale profit plunges 89% to $584m

Profits at the world's top iron ore producer, Brazilian mining giant Vale, dived 89.2 percent to $584 million in 2013, the firm said Wednesday. The company also posted a net loss that more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2013 from the previous year, from $2.615 billion to $6.451 billion. Vale did, however, report record production of iron ore, copper ore, copper, gold and coal. But it said profit was hit hard by a series of "non-recurring events," including increased costs and currency woes. "The result is positive even after all the non-recurring events, demonstrating the quality of our assets and operations that have been able to absorb the impact," the company said in a note to markets. Vale had reported a full-year net profit of $5.454 billion in 2012. In December, Vale announced it planned to cut investments for the third year in a row, down to $14.8 billion in 2014.