Petra Reports Surging Revenues And Profits

(IDEX Online News) – Petra Diamonds reported a 20-percent jump on the year in revenue for the fiscal year that ended on June 30 to $471.8 million.

Meanwhile, profit also surged – to $67.5 million from $27.9 million a year before.

The mid-size miner also reported that its diamond stocks fell by more than 14 percent to $27 million.  Output soared by 17 percent to 3.1 million carats.

Petra Diamonds said the rough diamond market had been in good condition during the fiscal year, and prices of goods rose by approximately 10 percent in the second six months of the fiscal year.

The miner believes that demand for rough will rise during the rest of this fiscal year  as a result of supply to the market that is not increasing, strong demand in the United States and rising demand from countries such as China and India. 

Petra predicts output for the current fiscal year will be 3.2 million carats, while once again confirming a five million carat target by 2019.

CEO Johan Dippenaar said, "Fiscal year 2014 was another year of steady progress for Petra, with production, revenue and the underlying profitability of the group rising in line with our expectations.

"Longer term, further to the delivery of our growth plans, the group remains on track to reach annual production of five million carats by fiscal year 2019. Petra's production growth comes at a time when demand for diamonds is continuing to grow around the world, but particularly in the major U.S. market and in emerging markets such as China and India.

"There is subsequently a positive outlook for the company, particularly given our expectations for further increases in production, rising margins, supportive rough diamond prices, and the continued contribution of exceptional diamonds. We look forward to entering a period of significant cash generation and the commencement of dividend payments to our shareholders in due course," he said.