Lucapa Diamond Company reported a $1.3 million loss for the first half of the year due to a market slowdown that led to declining prices for its rough diamonds. This contrasts sharply with a profit of $64,000 during the same period last year.
Total revenue dropped by 24% year-on-year to $35.6 million, with the average diamond price falling 26% to $1,213 per carat. Production also declined, with a 12% decrease to 27,362 carats from January to July.
Demand for diamonds over 2 carats remained steady in the first quarter but weakened in the second. However, diamonds over 10 carats saw consistent demand throughout the six months.
At Lucapa’s Lulo mine in Angola, revenue fell 18% to $27.2 million, with sales volume down 4% to 13,761 carats, reducing the average price by 15% to $1,976 per carat.
During the period, Lucapa held four run-of-mine diamond sales and one special tender, which brought in $10.5 million.
This tender included two rough diamonds weighing 203 and 116 carats. However, a second tender scheduled for the second quarter was postponed to July, affecting the average price as it included significant stones like a 195-carat rough diamond and four other high-quality white diamonds, plus a pink diamond.
Lucapa also completed six diamond sales from its Mothae mine in Lesotho through an offtake agreement with Safdico, generating $8.4 million, a 38% decrease year-on-year.
The average price per carat dropped 43% to $540 due to a decline in the recovery of high-value rough diamonds. In June, Lucapa sold the Mothae mine to Lesotho-based mining-service provider Lephema Executive Transport.
SOURCE:rapaport.com
