Brazil miner Vale's third-quarter profit rises

RIO DE JANEIRO Oct 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's Vale, one of the world's top three miners, said on Thursday its third-quarter net profit rose to $4.8 billion from $2.9 billion in the year-earlier period.

Vale (VALE5.SA)(RIO.N), the world's biggest iron ore producer, also said that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) -- a key measure of cash flow -- rose to $6.4 billion from $4 billion in the third quarter of 2007, according to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP).

The average forecast of five analysts polled by Reuters was for net profit to remain unchanged from a year ago.

(Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)