Vale S.A.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Vale's fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. This conference has been recorded and the replay will be available on our website at vale.com. The presentation is also available for download in English and Portuguese from our website. To listen to the call in Portuguese, please press the globe icon located on the lower right side of your Zoom screen and then choose to enter the Portuguese room. Then, you can select mute your original audio so that you won't hear the English version in the background. We would like to inform you that all participants are currently in listen-only mode during the presentation. Further instructions will be provided before we begin the Q&A section of our call. We would like to advise that forward-looking statements may be provided in this presentation, including VALE's expectation about future events or results, encompassing those matters listed in the respective presentation. We continue that forward-looking statements are not guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. To obtain information on factors that may lead results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the report's Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SAC, the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, CVM, and in particular the factors discussed under forward-looking statements and risk factors in Vale's annual report on Form 20-F. With us today are Mr. Gustavo Pimenta, CEO. Mr. Marcelo Bacci, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Mr. Rogério Nogueira, Executive Vice President, Commercial and Development. Mr. Carlos Medeiros, Executive Vice President of Operations. And Mr. Sean Usmore, CEO of Vale Base Metals. Now, I'll turn the conference over to Mr. Gustavo Pimenta. Sir, you may now begin.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Vale's fourth quarter 2025 conference call. Last year, we delivered outstanding results by exceeding all production guidances while maintaining a strong focus on cost performance and capital discipline, both in Aronor and base metals. Our flexible commercial strategy in Aronor and the successful ramp-up of key growth projects such as Capanema, Vargem Grande, Onsepuma Furnace 2 and Voizes Bay Expansion were fundamental in driving value for 2025 and will continue to do so in the years to come. At Validate, we outlined our strategy and presented our ambition to create superior value for our shareholders, driven by a relentless focus on operational excellence and on adding high-quality growth projects to our portfolio, particularly in copper and iron ore, leveraging our unique endowment. I am extremely confident that by executing on this long-term strategy, we will generate significant value for all of our stakeholders. With that, I would like to now turn to the highlights of our 2025 performance. As I mentioned earlier, we were able to make significant progress in 2025. On our core value safety, we achieved a 21% reduction in hypotension incidents, reflecting the continued evolution on our safety culture and on our focus on building an accident-free work environment. On tailings dams, in August, we fulfilled the commitment made to society in 2020 by eliminating all dams classified at Emergency Level 3 by 2025. We also ended the year with a 77% reduction in structures at any emergence level compared to 2020, and we expect to reach an 86% reduction by the end of 2026. These are meaningful milestones in our commitment to non-repetition. We also continued to make solid progress on reparation efforts, reaching 81% execution of the Brumadinho Agreement and disbursing R$ 73 billion under the Mariana Agreement, ensuring fair and comprehensive reparation. Operationally, 2025 was simply an outstanding year. We exceeded production guidances across all businesses while continuing to sharpen our competitiveness, once again delivering meaningful and sustainable cost reductions. I will cover that in more detail in the next slides. In February, we launched the Novo Carajás program, a transformation initiative that will help us double the copper output while enabling a creative growth in the world's highest quality iron ore endowment. Finally, the combination of strong execution in a more favorable cycle allowed us to exceed initial market expectations in terms of shareholder remuneration with a double-digit dividend yield. We entered 2026 with great optimism and the same focus to deliver strong results. Now, let's look in more detail at our businesses starting in the next slide. Iron ore production reached 336 million tons in 2025, 3% higher year-on-year and the highest level since 2018. The growth was primarily driven by the startup of low capital-intensive projects, such as Kappa Nema and Virgin Grande, combined with a very solid performance in Bruku II and SLR&D. Together, these assets enhance the flexibility of our operations and strengthen our product mix. In the second half of 2026, we will begin commissioning the SEHA SUE plus 20 million tons project, which will further increase volumes from our most competitive asset in terms of quality and cost. Enhanced operational flexibility combined with our active product portfolio management enabled us to maximize value creation in the iron ore business while you continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Valley-based metals also deliver outstanding results in 2025, achieving double-digit production growth in both copper and nickel. And copper production reached 382,000 tons in 2025, 10% higher year-on-year, supported by record output in Brazil and solid performance across our polymetallic assets in Canada. Nickel production also showed a strong growth of 11% year-on-year, driven by the ramp-up of the Voices Bay mine extension project and the commissioning of the second furnace at Onsapuma, reaching 177,000 tons. This strong performance at Valley-based Metals underscores the exceptional work of our team in unlocking value from our existing assets and positioning the company to deliver on its long-term growth ambitions. particular in copper. In 2025, we deliver cost reductions across all three commodities. This year-on-year improvement reflects the success of our efficiency programs and greater operational stability, which continue to translate into lower unit costs. In iron ore, all-in costs reached $54 per ton, representing a $2 per ton EONI reduction, despite a much lower contribution from pallet premiums. In copper and nickel, all-in costs declined by 77% and 27%, respectively, driven by higher byproduct prices and volumes. Looking ahead, we remain firmly committed to further strengthen our cost competitiveness across the portfolio. We are very confident in our ability to deliver our guidances once again in 2026, reinforcing Vale's position at the very low end of the global industry cost curve. Before passing on to Marcelo, let me briefly touch on capital allocation. Our capital allocation remains robust and disciplined, combining consistent organic growth with above-average shareholder remuneration. The new Carajás program continues to advance as planned. In January, we received the construction license for the Bacaba project, and construction works started on a schedule. The startup is expected in the first half of 2028, with an annual copper production capacity of 50,000 tons. We also conduct a thorough review of our CAPEX program in 2025. This resulted in an annual optimization of more than $500 million and allowed us to establish a new long-term CapEx guidance below $6 billion. Finally, in November, we announced a $2.8 billion in dividends and interest on capital. In 2025, Vale delivered a dividend yield of 16%, reflecting our confidence in the long-term prospects of our businesses. As I mentioned at the beginning of this presentation, our ambition is clear. We are committed to creating superior value within the sector. And I'm highly confident we will achieve that by consistently executing on our strategy. I will now pass the floor to Marcelo Bacci, who will walk you through our financial performance. I will return afterwards for closing remarks. Marcelo, please.

Thanks, Gustavo, and good morning, everyone. As Gustavo highlighted in his opening remarks, 2025 was an outstanding year for Vale, with strong performance and consistent execution across all three businesses. We delivered robust results and entered 2026 with great confidence and clear momentum. In the fourth quarter of 2025, our pro forma EBITDA reached $4.8 billion, representing an increase of 17% year-on-year and 10% quarter-on-quarter. As shown on the slide, this strong performance was primarily driven by an excellent quarter at Valley-based metals, supported by favorable pricing conditions for copper and byproducts, while continuing to capture meaningful operational gains across our polymetallic operations in Canada. As a result, Valley-based metals EBITDA more than doubled both year-on-year and sequentially, reaching $1.4 billion in the quarter, clearly demonstrating improved operating performance as well as the earnings power of this business. In Aronor, we also delivered strong results, with EBITDA remaining at a solid $4 billion, with higher sales volumes and improved realized prices compensating for the BRL appreciation in the quarter. Now let's turn to our cost performance. During the quarter, our C1 cash cost, excluding third-party purchases, increased by 13% year-on-year. This was primarily driven by the unfavorable BRL exchange rate and higher planned maintenance activities in the northern system, with a clear focus on optimizing performance and ensuring long-term asset reliability. In addition, higher production volumes in the southern and southeastern systems contributed to higher overall average unit costs, However, this impact was more than offset by the positive contribution to EBITDA, reflecting the strong operating leverage of our portfolio. Importantly, this cost increase in Q4 was expected and fully in line with our 2025 guidance, which closed the year at $21.3 per ton, right at the midpoint of the guidance range. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect C1 cash costs to range between $20 and $21.5 per ton, representing a further year-on-year reduction supported by continued operational discipline and efficiency initiatives. The all-in cost also performed in line with full-year guidance, reaching $54.3 per ton in the fourth quarter and averaging $54.2 per ton in 2025. This annual performance reflects the downward trajectory in our C1, as well as gains from our long-term affratement strategy. Turning now to valley-based metals, once again both copper and nickel delivered consistent reductions in oiling costs. In copper, oiling costs decreased by $2,000 per ton, moving into negative territory at minus $0.9,000 per ton, the lowest level in the history of the business. This outstanding performance was driven by strong by-product revenues, supported by higher gold prices and increased gold production at Salobo, combined with solid operating performance in our Brazilian assets. In nickel, all-in cost declined 35% year-on-year, reaching $9,000 per ton. This significant improvement was mainly driven by higher by-product revenues, particularly copper, as well as stronger performance at Voices Bay and Onsapuma, which helped dilute fixed costs. Looking ahead, we expect Valley-based metals to continue delivering operational improvements throughout 2026. further reducing operating costs beyond the positive contribution from byproducts. In NICO, our focus remains firmly on achieving at least a cash break-even position by the end of the year, and we are clearly on track to deliver on this objective. Now let's move on to cash generation. Our recurring free cash flow generation reached approximately $1.7 billion in Q4, more than double versus a year ago. This improvement was driven by our strong EBITDA performance, as well as cash inflows from exchange rate swap settlements, reflecting the appreciation of the Brazilian real. Our annual capex closed fully in line with the guidance we had announced, totally $5.5 billion. Looking ahead to 2026, we remain firmly committed to disciplined and efficient capital allocation, with expected capex in the range of $5.4 to $5.7 billion. We are confident that we can deliver all the growth initiatives discussed at Valley Day, while keeping our operations at a very high standard, with an annual capex below $6 billion in the long term, positioning Valley as one of the most accretive growth opportunities in the industry. Also in 2026, we already expect to see a significant reduction in cash outflows related to reparation and then de-characterization commitments, as these programs advanced meaningfully over the last year. As a result, we anticipate a reduction of approximately $1.5 billion in cash disbursements compared to 2025. Finally, as Gustavo highlighted, we announced $2.8 billion in dividends and interest on capital. Of this amount, $1 billion were extraordinary dividends paid in January, while the remaining amount is scheduled for payment in March. As you can see on the next slide, our strong cash generation in the quarter led to a significant reduction in expanded net debt, which closed the period at $15.6 billion. Our target range remains unchanged at $10 to $20 billion, with a clear objective of operating at the midpoint of this range. This level will continue to serve as our reference for additional shareholder remuneration. Before handing back to Gustavo, I would like to emphasize that the strong results we delivered in 2025 were made possible by clearly defined priorities and a company-wide focus on disciplined execution. Our value creation is anchored in a consistent, disciplined approach to capital allocation, which will continue to guide our decision going forward. With this foundation in place, we expect to continue advancing our growth strategy while consistently returning value to our shareholders. With that, I turn the call back to Gustavo for the key takeaways.