JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed Petra Diamonds is on track to meet its three-million-carat 2014 production target as it delivered a 15% hike in output during the third quarter of the year.
Production for the quarter under review reached 743 424 ct, compared with the recorded output of 647 248 ct in the corresponding quarter the year before. This brought Petra’s production for the nine months to March 2014 to 2.4-million carats, up 26% on the 1.9-million carats achieved during the same period last year.
Petra attributed the increase to the strong run rate and increased contribution from its Finsch mine, in the Northern Cape, which recorded another strong quarter with diamond production increasing 34% quarter-on-quarter to 460 144 ct during the three months to March and 45% year-on-year to 1.4-million carats during the nine months to March.
“Petra continues to deliver further production and revenue growth, and these results demonstrate that the company is firmly on track to meet its full year target of about three-million carats. The diamond market has had an encouragingly strong start to 2014, further underpinning Petra's positive outlook for the remainder of the 2014 financial year,” CEO Johan Dippenaar said in a statement.
Group revenue for the third quarter was up 55% to $163.9-million after the sale of 905 781 ct – a 36% jump from the 668 193 ct sold in the corresponding quarter the year before.
During the quarter under review, Petra sold seven 'special' stones exceeding $1-million each, five of which were sourced from Cullinan and two from Koffiefontein, generating revenue of $39.9-million.
Petra’s revenue for the nine months to March increased 33% to $349.4-million, with 2.3-million carats sold, a 34% rise on the prior period last year.