Petra Diamonds H1 revenue falls amid lower diamond prices

In the six months to the end of December, revenue declined 6% to $193.9m, mainly due to lower diamond prices and an adverse product mix at the Finsch and Williamson mines, partially offset by the sale of the exceptional blue diamond from Cullinan.

Production in the half rose 3% to 2.07m carats and Petra said it was on track to meet or exceed FY 2020 production of around 3.8m carats.

Petra said that while 2019 was "very challenging" for the rough diamond market, the second quarter of FY 2020 saw growing stability in pricing as the year closed. Post the period end, demand has continued to improve as the midstream looks to replenish inventory after robust holiday season retail sales, it said, adding that early indications suggest rough pricing has improved modestly in the third quarter to date.

Chief executive Richard Duffy said: "I am very pleased with the progress made in implementing Project 2022 across our operations and at corporate level. The buy in to this project from all of our Petra employees and contractors has supported the strong operational performance across all sites, resulting in us achieving our highest level of run-of-mine tonnes mined and carats recovered over the last six months, and has positioned us to meet or exceed full year guidance.

"It is also encouraging that rough diamond pricing has modestly improved moving into our third quarter. The health of the market will depend on continued supply discipline from the majors as well as macro-economic conditions."

At 1000 GMT, the shares were down 9.5% at 9.68p.