Richard Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of Petra, commented, “Our sixth tender cycle yielded US$44 million from the sale of 371kcts. Like-for-like [1] prices were marginally down through this seasonally quiet period, being 2.6% lower than Tender 5, with demand slightly muted due to Indian holidays and the continued slow recovery in the Chinese market.
We continue to see evidence of stabilisation in the market and are cautiously optimistic that demand and pricing will improve towards the end of this calendar year. We plan to conclude a seventh sales cycle closing before the end of June 2024.”
Sales
Total revenue YTD FY 2024 from rough diamond sales is US$329 million, compared to US$316 million in the first five tenders of FY 2023, excluding Koffiefontein. Year-on-year volume variances in respect of YTD FY 2023 were affected by the deferral of certain parcels which were sold as part of Tender 1 of FY 2024.
Like-for-like prices.
Like-for-like rough diamond prices decreased by 2.6% on Tender 5 FY 2024 which is largely ascribed to seasonal weakness being evident across virtually all size categories. Average like-for-like prices for the six tenders thus far in FY 2024 were down 8.6% year-to-date compared to the equivalent tenders of FY 2023.
The balance of price movements is attributable to product mix, with average prices per carat received being 13% lower than the previous tender, largely as a result of the 14.76ct exceptional colour and clarity blue diamond which sold for US$8.2 million in Tender 5 FY 2024.
Although Williamson’s average price was up around 3% compared to the previous tender, average prices for this cycle were impacted by a reduced prevalence of higher-valued single stones. This reduced prevalence is ascribed to the mining areas currently being accessed and is expected to be temporary in nature.
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