RAPAPORT... Alrosa’s sales climbed 14% to $294.9 million in August due
to strong demand for higher-value rough diamonds, the miner reported.
“Despite [the] traditional August market slowdown, sales of both
rough and polished diamonds were much higher than a year before,” Yury Okoemov,
Alrosa’s deputy CEO for sales, said Monday. “Positive trends in diamond-jewelry
sales observed since the beginning of the year [are contributing] to stable demand for
almost the entire range of our products, especially for high-price rough
diamonds.”
Rough-diamond sales increased 11% year on year to $283.2
million for the month, while polished revenue rose to $11.7 million from $1.9
million a year ago.
The miner maintains a “moderately positive outlook” for both
rough and polished for the rest of the year, it said. Growing demand for
diamond jewelry in the main markets, including the US, China and India,
supports that position, Okoemov added.
Alrosa’s sales grew 9% to $3.32 billion in the first eight
months of the year. Revenue from rough stones increased 9% to $3.26 billion for
the period, while polished-diamond sales climbed 4% to $67 million.
Image: Rough diamonds pas through a sorting machine at the Mirny division. Credit: Alrosa
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