RIO DE JANEIRO -Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, returned to profit in the second quarter, bolstered by higher output and cost cuts as it kept up pressure on Australian rivals in the fight for market share. The Brazilian miner overcame a slump in iron ore prices to report a net profit of $1.68 billion on Thursday, moving into the black for the first time in a year. That was a jump of 17.3 percent from the same quarter a year ago, and more than four times the average forecast of $408 million of six analysts in a Reuters poll. “We are happy with the result and it shows the company is prepared for the challenging commodities scenario,” Chief Financial Officer Luciano Siani said, adding “Vale is becoming more competitive all the time.” A big part of the improved result was a reduction in cash costs, with Vale lowering its cost of producing a tonne of iron ore to $15.8 per tonne, from $18.3 per tonne in the first quarter. With the iron ore price <.IO62-CNI=SI> about half what it was a year ago, mining companies have focused their attention on reducing costs to survive the slump. For Vale, one of the lowest-cost producers of the steelmaking raw material, alongside Australia’s Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, the result was a welcome boost after a string of quarterly losses. “Management is delivering on its promises,” Citigroup analysts Alexander Hacking and Thiago Ojea said in a note, highlighting the strong performance of Vale’s iron ore division. The profit announcement comes a week after the Rio de Janeiro-based company announced record mine output for the second quarter. Crucially, Vale said its realized price, a measure of how much it earned on ore sales, rose to $50.6 per tonne, from $46 per tonne in the first quarter.