Petra Revenue Receives Boost from Special Stones

RAPAPORT… Petra Diamonds’ revenue jumped in the first fiscal half as rough prices rose and the company sold a number of large and colored stones.

Sales climbed 49% year on year to $264.7 million for the six months ending December 31, the company said Tuesday. The growth came even as sales volume fell to 1.6 million carats, 7% less than in the same period a year earlier, when Petra had a buildup of inventory to sell following the Covid-19 downturn.

During the July-to-December period, the miner sold a 39.34-carat, blue diamond for $40.2 million, a 32.32-carat pink for $13.8 million, and a 259.79-carat white for $13.9 million. It also garnered a total of $13.5 million from the sale of a 342.92-carat white and an 18.30-carat blue in a deal that saw it retain 50% of the profit from future polished proceeds.

Meanwhile, rough-diamond prices rose 16% on a like-for-like basis compared with the six months ending June 2021, Petra reported.

Production grew 2% year on year to 1.8 million carats, primarily due to the reopening of the company’s Williamson mine in Tanzania.

“Production [is] comfortably tracking our guidance,” said Petra CEO Richard Duffy. “The strong operating performance, together with proceeds from the sale of exceptional stones supported by a strong market delivering ongoing price increases, has raised profitability, further strengthened our balance sheet and improved our cash position, which sets us up well for the second half of [fiscal year] 2022 and beyond.”

The company’s net debt decreased to $153.6 million as of December 31 versus $201.4 million on September 30. It currently has $79.6 million in rough inventory.

Petra expects to recover 3.3 million to 3.6 million carats for the whole fiscal year, it added. The company will release its full results for the six months on February 22.

Image: Ore processing at the Williamson mine. (Petra Diamonds)