Alrosa posts H1 loss due to weak diamond market, strong rouble
MOSCOW - Russian diamond miner Alrosa, the world's largest diamond producer, slipped into a loss in the first half of 2026 amid an ongoing industry crisis and a strong rouble, the company said on Thursday.
Alrosa's net loss for the first half of the year amounted to 9.5-billion roubles ($110.08-million), compared with a profit of 40.6-billion roubles a year earlier.
Revenue, including subsidies, fell 33% year-on-year to 91.7-billion roubles due to weak market conditions, compounded by the strengthening rouble, relatively high interest rates and inflation in Russia.
Alrosa, with a global market share of about 30%, reduced production by 10% to 29.8-million carats in 2025.
The company expects output to decline to 25 to 26-million carats in 2026 and then recover to 29 to 30-million carats once the market stabilises.
By the end of the first half of 2026, the Russian company had accumulated diamond inventories worth 150.8-billion roubles.
Alrosa, which has been under Western sanctions since 2022, temporarily suspended operations at low-margin assets in 2025 and 2026.
Alrosa said it was seeing inventory normalisation in India's diamond-cutting sector following large-scale destocking in 2024 to 2025, as well as rising polished-diamond prices across all size categories and stable demand for diamonds larger than two carats.
Continued strong demand by value for high-end jewellery in key consumer markets, including the US, India and China, supports expectations of a recovery in the market balance over the medium term, the company said.
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