London-listed Petra Diamonds has sold 613,682 carats of diamonds for $53 million during its combined Tender 5 and 6 sales cycle, bringing total revenue for the financial year to $239 million from 2.39 million carats sold.
Due to ongoing fluctuations in diamond prices and demand, Petra has moved away from fixed tender schedules. The company now reserves the option to delay parts of tenders or sell diamonds as run-of-mine.
“Reporting tender results on a tender-by-tender basis is no longer appropriate,” Petra stated. “Sales results will now be published quarterly alongside the company’s operational updates.”
Sales from the latest tender cycle are notably lower than the 733,236 carats sold for $93 million during the fifth and sixth tenders of the previous financial year.
Year-to-date sales have also declined from 2.82 million carats generating $329 million during the same period last year.
Despite a 3% improvement in like-for-like rough diamond prices compared to Tender 4 of this year, prices are still down 16% year-on-year.
Petra operates the Cullinan and Finsch mines in South Africa and has recently completed the sale of its Williamson mine in Tanzania.
