Alrosa 2003 Net Income Beats Expectations

Rough diamond monopoly Alrosa says its net income in 2003 was 10.31 billion rubles ($358 million), exceeding its planned net income for 2003 by $89.6 million. Alrosa said its total diamond output by value in 2003 amounted to $1.61 billion, with $1.44 billion worth of rough produced by Alrosa and another $167.3 million produced by its Alrosa-Nyurba subsidiary.

The company’s total diamond sales amounted to $1.81 billion, with Alrosa accounting for $1.69 billion - $1.57 billion from rough diamond sales and $122.4 million from cut and polished diamond sales - and its Alrosa-Nyurba subsidiary accounting for $125 million.

The figure beats expectations for diamond sales given earlier this month of total rough and polished diamond sales of $1.73 billion, $137.1 million of which was expected to come from polished diamond sales.

The company's sales to CIS countries (the former Soviet Union states) totaled $26.5 million in 2003 and sales on the open market were $106 million.

Alrosa reportedly sold $634 million worth of rough diamonds to De Beers, far less then the $800 million agreed on between the two in a deal that was not approved by the European Union.

Despite the 25 percent difference, De Beers is apparently Alrosa’s biggest client.

Alrosa reported that 50 percent of total sales in 2003 were exports while the rest was sold domestically.

Meanwhile, sales of products and services last year amounted to $195 million.

For 2004, Alrosa said it is aiming to achieve $1.51 billion of rough diamond output – or $1.86 billion including production from Alrosa-Nyurba. The company’s total diamond sales target for this year is $1.73 billion.