Price Jump Lifts Petra Revenue

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' sales surged in the past fiscal year as the company benefited from stronger rough demand and the resumption of production at its Williamson mine in Tanzania.Revenue jumped 44% to $584.1 million for the 12 months ending June 30, the miner reported Tuesday. Prices climbed 42% on a like-for-like basis compared to the previous year."The most recent tender in June highlighted the strength of demand across Petra's product mix, both in white and colored gem-quality stones, with some increased demand for smaller diamonds," management explained. "This growth in demand is driven by midstream inventory restocking and continued strong jewelry retail sales associated with a delayed wedding boom and a growing trend in diamonds being given as meaningful gifts post-Covid-19." The company brought in a record $89.1 million from exceptional stones for the full year, a 44% increase. That outweighed an 11% drop in group sales volume to 3.5 million carats. Production increased 3% to 3.4 million carats.During the period, the miner also received around $1.1 million from the sale of polished via a partnership with a manufacturer. Petra sold an 18.30-carat, blue rough diamond for $3.5 million in August 2021 and retained a 50% share of the future profits. The final polished included a radiant-cut, 7.09-carat diamond that fetched $5.8 million, while the total net profit for the partnership from all the stones came to just over $2.1 million. In the fourth fiscal quarter ending June 30, revenue soared 46% to $178.8 million, with sales volume up 2% to 1.2 million carats. Production fell 6% to 745,790 carats as the company extracted less - and lower-grade - ore from its Cullinan deposit in South Africa, partly reflecting the depletion of the mining area where it was previously active.Petra believes it will produce between 3.3 million and 3.6 million carats in the new fiscal year ending June 2023, with the same amount expected for the fiscal year ending June 2024. However, the miner anticipates a rise to between 3.6 million and 3.9 million carats for fiscal 2025.Image: A truck carrying ore at the Williamson mine. (Petra Diamonds)