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(Alliance News) - Petra Diamonds Ltd on Tuesday reported a decline in revenue despite an uptick in production and sales, as the price of diamonds fell.
The diamond mining group focused on southern Africa said revenue declined 9.3% to USD187.7 million in the six months to December 31, from USD207.1 million a year prior.
This is despite the company selling around 1.7 million diamonds, up 27% from 1.3 million. However, the price of diamonds contracted by around 13% on a like-for-like basis per carat. At the Finsch mine in South Africa, the average price fell by 18% to USD99 per carat from USD120 year-on-year. In the second quarter of financial 2024 compared to the first, it declined 9.6% to USD94 from USD104.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Richard Duffy said: "We remain on track to meet our FY 2024 production guidance of 2.9 to 3.2 million carats."
Duffy added, however, that output will be towards the lower end of the guidance range.
CEO Duffy continued: "While we are seeing encouraging indications of price recovery and some stabilisation in the rough diamond market, following actions taken by both producers and the mid-stream, we continue to adopt a cautious approach to the market in the near-term. Once completed, the additional headroom afforded by our increased revolving credit facility will enable us to continue our flexible sales approach and position ourselves to take advantage of any market improvements."
Petra Diamonds shares were 0.2% lower at 64.90 pence each on Tuesday afternoon in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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