Independent diamond producer Petra Diamonds said it achieved $67.9 million in revenue from its third tender cycle of the fiscal year 2024, which ended in December 2023. This represents a 68% increase from the previous tender cycle and a 19.3% increase in like-for-like prices, indicating that the diamond market has rebounded from the slump caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
The company sold 519.4 thousand carats (kcts) of rough diamonds in the third tender cycle, up 17% from the second tender cycle and 71% from the same period last year. The average price per carat was $131, up 44% from the second tender cycle and down 4% from the same period last year. The company attributed the price improvement to the strong demand for smaller diamonds, as well as the sale of a rare 12.6ct blue diamond from its Cullinan Mine in South Africa for $6.2 million.
Petra Diamonds operates four mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania. The company's flagship Cullinan Mine, which is known for producing some of the world's largest and most valuable diamonds, saw the highest price increase among its mines, from US$78 per carat in the second tender cycle to US$139 per carat in the third tender cycle. The Finsch Mine and the Williamson Mine in Tanzania also saw modest price increases, while the Koffiefontein Mine was excluded from the results as it has been classified as a discontinued operation.
The company's total revenue for the first three tender cycles of the fiscal year 2024 was $187.8 million, down 7% from the same period last year. The company said that the year-on-year comparison was affected by the deferral of some sales parcels from the last fiscal year to the current one, due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
