Lucara Slashes 2024 Revenue Guidance
November 19, 24
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has cut its diamond revenue guidance for this year by more than a quarter, blaming lower sales of +10.8-ct specials and the softening of the rough diamond market globally.
The Canadian miner says it now expects to revenue of $160m to $180m during 2024, compared to its previous forecast of $220m to $250m.
Sales of specials, in partnership with HB, fell by 27 per cent during the quarter, from $38.4m to $27.8m.
Lucara expects to sell between 345,000 and 375,000 carats from the 100 per cent owned Karowe mine in Botswana, which is known as a source of large exceptional quality Type IIa diamonds.
The company sold a total of 116,221 carats during the quarter, generating $44.3m of revenue. It also recovered two exceptional diamonds, weighing 2,488-carats (the second biggest ever in the world) and 1,094-carats.
In its third quarter update Lucara the long-term outlook for natural diamond prices outlook remains resilient, as major mines reduce their output.
"However, the smaller size stones market remains soft as demand is impacted by a weak Asian market and the increasing uptake of laboratory-grown diamonds," it said.
"Demand for stones larger than over 10.8 carats remains robust, as reflected in the company's sales in the plus 10.8 carats category."
It said it viewed G7 sanctions on Russian goods as "short-term support for diamond prices," as the emphasis on stone provenance increases.
Pic shows Lucara's the 2,488 carat diamond, the second biggest in the world.