Alrosa Diamond Sales Hit Year Low in December

RAPAPORT… Alrosa’s sales reached their lowest level of the year in December as a depletion of stock led to less available inventory.

The miner sold $254 million in diamonds during the month, 51% less than a year earlier, the company reported Thursday. The figure represented a 24% drop from November.

Rough revenues fell 49% year on year to $241 million, while sales in the polished division plunged 77% to $12 million. Rough sales encompass the company’s monthly trading sessions for contract clients as well as tenders and auctions of 10.8-carat stones and larger.

Alrosa’s inventory has declined due to continued high demand for diamond jewelry, in addition to a drop in production, management explained.

“Amid strong demand, December sales dynamics result from the high base effect of December 2020, when sales primarily came from our stocks, as well as from the trading session shift towards the end of the month, with sales partly moving to January 2022,” said Alrosa deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev. “To reiterate, our inventories remain at rock bottom since mid-2021.”

The company’s diamond revenues soared 49% year on year to $4.17 billion for the full year, reflecting the recovery from last year’s slowdown. Rough sales rose by 50% to $3.98 billion, with polished up 28% to $192 million. Results for 2021 were also 21% higher than for the full year of 2019, Alrosa added.

Image: Rough diamonds. (Alrosa)