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Petra's 3Q Revenue +55% to $164M
Apr 23, 2014 4:07 AM
By Deena Taylor
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RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds reported that revenue rose 55 percent year on year to $163.9 million during the third quarter that ended on March 31 as production rose and rough prices firmed.
The company sold 905,781 carats during the period, 36 percent more than one year ago. Seven special stones sold for over $1 million, achieving a total of $39.9 million. These included the 29.60-carat blue diamond from the Cullinan mine, which fetched $25.6 million.
Group production rose 15 percent to 743,424 carats due to an increased contribution from the company's Finsch mine. The rise in production came despite higher than average rainfall in South Africa, which impacted ore treatment at the Finsch, Cullinan and Williamson mines.
Petra noted that the rough diamond market had a strong start to the calendar year and remained firm throughout the quarter, with prices rising by around 10 percent during the period. The company expects the market to consolidate around these price levels for the remainder of the financial year.
Production at the Finsch mine rose 34 percent to 460,144 carats, despite the fact that underground production was impacted by wet ground conditions. Sales from Finsch totaled $53.6 million for 511,555 carats, with an average price of $103 per carat. Production at the Cullinan mine fell 10 percent to 186,121 carats, which was below management's expectations, while sales jumped 153 percent to $70.6 million, for an average price of $256 per carat.
Petra's Koffiefontein mine produced 12,024 carats and achieved sales of $10.9 million, while the Kimberley underground operation recorded production of 31,792 carats and sales of $12.1 million. The company's Williamson mine in Tanzania produced 45,477 carats and generated $15.9 million in sales, while the Helam fissure mine in South Africa produced 7,886 carats and achieved $1.8 million from sales.
At the end of the period, Petra had $29.7 million cash on hand, diamond debtors of $64.9 million and diamond inventories of 404,210 carats valued at $35 million.
Petra's CEO, Johan Dippenaar, said the company is focused on achieving its stated full year production target of 3 million carats for fiscal 2014 and has a positive outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.
For the nine month period, Petra's revenue rose 33 percent to year on year to $349.4 million and production increased 26 percent to 2,379,140 carats.
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Tags:
Blue diamond, Cullinan, Deena Taylor, diamonds, Finsch, Petra Diamonds
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