Mountain Province Holds Back Dividend

RAPAPORT… Mountain Province decided not to pay a quarterly dividend to
shareholders due to challenging conditions in the diamond market, the miner
reported.



Demand for rough from its Gahcho Kué mine in Canada was sluggish
in the third quarter amid weakness in India, the company said Monday. Prices of
lower-value diamonds dropped even as sales increased 15% year on year to CAD
74.9 million ($56.6 million) for the period.


Profit slumped 37% to CAD 17.5 million ($13.2 million),
weighed by foreign-exchange losses and expenses related to exploration work at
the Kennady asset, which it acquired in January.


The miner has to balance paying dividends and reducing debt,
it said. As such, “the company has taken a view that with the current pricing
pressure, it will not be declaring a dividend this quarter,” it continued. Its
share price fell 13% on the Toronto Stock Exchange Tuesday
following the news.


“The impact of the weakening Indian rupee, together with the
overhang from demonetization and a major fraud in India, have combined to
reduce the availability of credit offered to diamantaires in the industry,”
Mountain Province CEO Stuart Brown explained. “A consequence of this has been a
price weakening of goods of the small, lower-quality and brown categories,
where we have seen price decreases during [the third quarter].”



By contrast, demand was strong for stones weighing 10.80
carats or higher and those that produce fancy-color polished, Brown noted. As a
result, the average selling price climbed 12% to CAD 95 ($72) per carat for the
quarter.


Revenue for the first nine months jumped to CAD 240.5
million ($181.7 million) from CAD 92.9 million ($70.2 million) for the same
period a year ago. The average price increased 4% to CAD 99 ($75) per carat, while profit
dropped 66% to CAD 11.3 million ($8.5 million).

Image: Gahcho Kué mine. (Mountain Province)