Petra Diamonds’ rough prices decreased at its latest tender, as smaller goods experienced seasonal weakness.
The fifth trading session, which took place in April, brought in $49 million from the sale of 362,132 carats, while like-for-like prices slipped 1% versus February, the miner reported Tuesday.
Of the total, $8.2 million came from the sale of a 14.76-carat, blue diamond from the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
The sales value was up 3% from February’s $48 million and 17% from the equivalent tender in May 2023. Sales volume dropped 16% from February 2024 and 23% year on year, while the average price surged to $136 per carat, compared to $112 per carat at the previous tender, due to the inclusion of the blue diamond.
Like-for-like prices of rough diamonds over 2 carats remained solid, while smaller goods showed seasonal weakness, Petra explained.
Average like-for-like prices for the first five tenders of the fiscal year were down 8.5% compared to the equivalent tenders the previous year.
Revenue for the third fiscal quarter fell 1.5% year on year to $66 million for the three months that ended March 31, but it went down 27% from the second fiscal quarter.
The latter drop was the result of a decrease in production and the timing of realized revenue from the fifth tender. Sales volume rose 3% year on year to 476,730 carats.
Output for the January-to-March period advanced 1.9% to 665,577 carats. The miner believes it is on track to meet its guidance of 2.75 million to 2.85 million carats for the full fiscal year.
Petra’s debt increased to $232 million as of the end of March, from $212 million on December 31.
For the first nine months of the fiscal year, the company’s revenue fell 8% to $253 million, while sales volume jumped 21% to 2.1 million carats. Production grew 2% to 2.1 million carats
