Rockwell Sales -45% in Q4 FY2016

(IDEX Online News) – Mid-tier diamond production company Rockwell Diamonds Inc. has announced that its sales dropped 45 percent to $7.1 million in its fourth quarter for the three months ended February 29.

The volume of sales slumped to 4,925 carats – a 42-percent decrease from 8,467 carats in the fourth quarter of the 2015 fiscal year. Sales value was nearly halved, falling to $7.1 million compared to $13.1 million over the same period in the prior year. Average price also declined, falling 6 percent to $1, 448 per carat compared to $1, 544 per carat in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The company is in the process of winding down its mining operations at its Saxendrift mine, with many workers likely to be relocated to Wouterspan. Rockwell sold 1,820 carats from the mine, raising $2.6 million, which corresponded to a 71-percent year-on-year decline. However, the average per carat value of $1,456 represented a 39-percent increase on the previous quarter.

“After a very difficult operating period the fourth quarter performance showed positive signs of recovery in spite of the continued overall weakness in global diamond pricing,” said Rockwell CEO and president James Campbell.

“As we strive for a safe and sustainable monthly processing target of 500,000m3, our search for new value opportunities continues, with exploration activities gaining momentum during the quarter… Albeit challenging, the restructuring decision was one which we felt compelled to take in order to deliver greater value to our stakeholders.”