Petra predicts "modest" diamond market recovery next year

South Africa-focused diamond miner Petra Diamonds saw shares rise on Tuesday after it reported that carats sold increased by more than a third in the year to 30 June, as it predicted a "modest recovery" in the diamond market in 2025.

Revenues were up 13% year-on-year at $366m, helped by a 36% jump in diamonds sold to 3.16m carats.

"This increase was driven by Williamson ramping up to steady-state operations and the planned benefit of the delayed sale of the final tender in FY 2023," said chief executive Richard Duffy.

Total diamond production during the year totalled 2.73m carats, up just 2% year-on-year but slightly below the company's guidance of 2.75-2.85m.

However, total carat production is expected to increase to 2.8-3.1m in the year ending June 2025 and 2.9-3.3m the year after.

Looking ahead, Duffy predicted that current diamond market weakness will continue through to the end of the calendar year with some price volatility.

"We expect diamond prices to show modest recovery in the new year with market fundamentals providing pricing support in the medium and longer-term" he said.

"We are looking forward to addressing the challenges ahead of us from a position of strength, with world class assets that have long term-potential, strong sustainability credentials and an ability to withstand market and capital cycles.”

The stock was up 6.4% at 36.4p by 1124 BST, following a 50% drop in the share price since the start of 2024.