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Petra Diamonds Sees Steady Rough Demand
Apr 24, 2017 9:22 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds’ sales slipped 1% in the third fiscal quarter
amid a stable rough market, the miner reported.
The company’s sales declined to $119.1 million during the
three months that ended March 31, it said Monday, adding that sales volume had jumped
14% to 1.1 million carats.
“We continue to see stabilization, with steady demand across
all size ranges, including those affected by demonetization,” said Petra CEO
Johan Dippenaar (pictured), referring to the Indian government’s decision in November to
invalidate 86% of the country’s currency notes. The move led to a drop in
demand for smaller goods at the end of last year due to a liquidity crunch in
the diamond-manufacturing sector.
The company also noted that this quarter had yielded zero
revenue from exceptional large diamonds — those that fetched more than $5
million each — compared with $15 million a year ago.
Production for the quarter was relatively steady as well,
creeping up to 999,768 carats from 995,905 carats.
The company was upbeat about the diamond market, and predicted
continued stability in the fourth quarter.
“We continue to witness further evidence of improving retail
demand, with some encouraging trends in mainland China, as well as narrowing
declines in Hong Kong and Macau,” the company said.
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Tags:
Johan Dippenaar, petra, Petra Diamonds, Rapaport News, Rough Diamonds, rough market
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