Vale, one of the world's largest iron-ore miners, posted net income of $4.45-billion, or 98 cents a share, soundly beating the Refinitiv forecast of 57 cents.
The bottom line was boosted by a $2.35-billion financial gain related to unspecified foreign exchange rates, which largely masked weaker sales and rising costs.
Revenue fell 19.5% to $9.93 billion, lagging market expectations of $10.2-billion. Meanwhile, the cost of its products rose by 15.1% to $6.3-billion.
The decline in Vale's top and bottom lines comes as the price of iron ore, a key steel ingredient, is on course to end 2022 at its lowest level in recent years, reflecting subdued global demand.
In the three months ended September 30, Vale realized an average price of $92.6 per tonne of iron ore, down from $127.2 per tonne in the same period of 2021.
