Confiscated Diamonds Weigh on Petra Revenue

RAPAPORT… Petra Diamonds reported a 17% slide in revenue during its first fiscal quarter after a valuation dispute with Tanzanian authorities.

Revenue fell to $78.7 million in the July-to-September quarter, including $10.9 million in revenue from exceptional diamonds, Petra said Monday in a trading update for the period.

There were no sales recorded from the Williamson mine in Tanzania, since the government seized a parcel containing 71,654 carats of rough over a valuation disagreement in August. Tanzania has since permitted Petra to resume exports from the mine, and a parcel of 40,000 carats from Williamson was recently shipped to Petra’s office in Antwerp, to be sold in the ongoing second quarter, the miner said.

Petra is still engaging with the Tanzanian government to reach a satisfactory solution for the confiscated parcel, it added.

Production during the quarter declined 4% year on year to 1.05 million carats, mainly due to a planned reduction in output from two of its mines in South Africa, the company said. Labor disruptions in September, which have since been resolved, impacted run-of-mine production by approximately 60,000 carats, the miner reported.

Petra noted seasonal weakness in the diamond market due to a number of religious holidays that many clients in the midstream were observing. Rough-diamond prices fell 3% on a like-for-like basis during the quarter, and by a further 2% in October, the company reported.