Alrosa Sales Rise Amid Market Rebound

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales increased 11% year on year to $363.8 million in December as demand in the manufacturing sector continued to rebound, the Russian miner said Monday."In December, we observed signs of stabilizing diamond demand that had emerged earlier in the second half of the year amid the gradual restoration of market balance," said Alrosa deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev. The month saw the steepest sales increase of the year, with both rough and polished sales improving. Rough-diamond sales grew 9% to $352.1 million for the month, while polished revenue more than doubled to $11.6 million, compared with $5 million a year ago. Alrosa's sales dropped 26% to $3.34 billion for the year. Revenue from rough stones decreased 26% to $3.27 billion, and polished-diamond sales slid 32% to $64.7 million.Image: Rough diamonds at a sorting center in Mirny. (Alrosa)