Alrosa Q1 Net Profit Down 38% to $49 Million

Russian diamond miner Alrosa said that its net profit for the first quarter fell 37.5 percent year-over-year to 1.156 billion rubles ($49 million), calculated to Russian Accounting Standards, according to RIA Novosti.

The state-owned company attributed the decline to a planned decrease in sales, the sharp depreciation of the U.S. dollar to the ruble, a traditional drop in demand for rough diamonds at the beginning of the year and increased production costs due to rising inflation.

Alrosa previously announced that, while its diamond production for 2007 rose 1.6 percent to $2.37 billion, its 2007 net profit fell 9.28 percent to approximately $597 million. Explanation for the decline in profit was not given.