(Alliance News) - Petra Diamonds Ltd on Tuesday said coronavirus has hurt its performance in the first half of its current financial year.
The Jersey-based diamond mining company reported revenue for the six months to the end of 2020 down 8.1% year-on-year to USD178.1 million from USD193.9 million. This was from 1.71 million carats sold, down 1.7% from 1.74 million a year prior.
Petra said production for the half-year was down 16% to 1.7 million carats compared to 2.1 million carats the year prior.
Petra said revenue was hurt by the Covid-19 outbreak resulting in lower diamond prices and fewer tenders during the period.
Diamond pricing on a like-for-like basis increased by a further 8% at the company's January tender, confirming that pricing has now returned to pre-Covid-19 levels.
Petra said its production guidance for the full year remains suspended due to the ongoing uncertainty around the impact of Covid-19.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the half-year were up 20% to USD80.8 million from USD67.2 million the year before, driven by the sale of the Letlapa Tala collection - blue diamonds discovered in South Africa - and reduced mining and processing costs.
Petra Diamonds shares were trading 5.5% higher in London on Tuesday at 1.74p each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Petra Diamonds (PDL)