22nd Oct 2024 14:33
(Alliance News) - Petra Diamonds Ltd on Tuesday reported an increase in quarterly diamond production following "solid performances" at two of its African mines.
For the first quarter of its new financial year, Africa-focused Petra Diamonds recorded a 7% increase in diamond production to 679,625 carats from 636,743 carats in the prior period.
Petra said this is owed in large part to higher grades at South Africa-based Cullinan mine and higher tonnes mined as well as grade improvements at Zimbabwe-based Williamson mine.
Revenue for London-listed mining business declined 76% to USD23 million from USD113 million the prior quarter as the business was impacted by the deferral of the majority of its South African goods from tender one.
This deferral also impacted net debt, which increased 42% to USD285 million from USD201 million in the preceding quarter.
Petra noted that both tender one and two closed this week, "yielding USD76 million from 600,000 carats sold" and with average prices representing a 13% increase over the previous tender.
The business stated that its pricing assumptions for the rest of its financial year are unchanged.
Petra Chief Executive Richard Duffy said: "Reflecting our agility to respond to weaker market conditions, we announced the decision to defer the sale of the majority of our South African goods from tender one in August/September to support steps taken by major producers to manage supply.
"Our combined first and second tenders indicate continued weakness in the rough diamond market, more than offset by Petra's product mix.
"...A further review of cash generation opportunities is currently underway to mitigate the impact of ongoing weakness in the diamond market and a stronger Rand, and we remain committed to our target of net cash generation for the full year in 2025. We continue to expect prices to show some improvement in [full year] 2025, with market fundamentals being supportive in the medium-to-longer term."
Shares in Petra Diamonds were trading down 2.2% at 35.12 pence on Tuesday afternoon in London.
By Christopher Ward, Alliance News reporter
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