Petra Boss Steps Down Amid $203M Loss

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds CEO Johan Dippenaar will leave the company afterit recorded a huge loss during the fiscal year, it said Monday. The company reported a net loss of $203.1 million for the periodending June 30, as opposed to a profit of $20.7 million the year before. Thiswas due to the combination of an impairment charge - a permanent reduction in the valueof an asset - on its Koffiefontein mine, and a loss stemming from theceasing of operations and sale of its Kimberley asset. That divestment was partof an effort to raise money to pay off debt. "Learning from past challenges, the group's focus is toregain investor confidence by the continued optimization of operations, therebydelivering consistent production output with efficient operating and capital expenditure," Dippenaar said. The miner is currently in the middle of a succession planthat includes a review of its board, committee and senior-managementstructures, Petra explained. Dippenaar will leave as part of this plan once thenomination committee has found a successor. "Johan has led Petra through a long period of significantgrowth, taking the company's annual production from approximately 175,000carats in [fiscal 2006] to 4.6 million carats in [fiscal 2018], andestablishing the company as a leading independent diamond producer," said Petrachairman Adonis Pouroulis. "As Petra now approaches the final stage of itsexpansion plans, it is positioned to reap the benefits and, in line with the nominationcommittee's succession plan, a successor for the CEO position will be appointedin due course." Revenue at Petra increased 25% to $495.3 million for the year. Production rose 19% to 3.8 million carats. The miner realized sales of $78 million from its September tender, whichoccurred after the end of the second half, as prices fell 5% on a like-for-likebasis compared with the same period last year. Petra plans to hold six moretenders in the 2019 fiscal year. Petra operates the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein minesin South Africa, as well as the Williamson mine in Tanzania. Image: Petra CEO Johan Dippenaar. (Petra Diamonds)