Richard Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of Petra Diamonds (Petra) said, “Petra’s fifth tender for FY 2023 yielded US$42.1m and, in line with others in the market, saw a softening in demand following stronger sales in our fourth tender cycle which closed in March 2023.
As a result, like-for-like prices for the goods sold declined compared to Tender 4 and were marginally lower compared to Tender 3. We withheld parcels with a combined weight of 75.9 kcts of gem and near-gem quality goods throughout all size ranges in expectation of an improved pricing environment in May and June. Prices offered on these parcels reflected bidding at prices below our own estimates.
A total of 468.8 kcts of goods from both the Cullinan Mine and Finsch were sold, yielding US$42.1 million. The softer demand is attributed to inventory levels in the midstream and extended shutdowns by certain manufacturers following the recent Indian holidays.
With the extended holidays set to end in the coming weeks, demand is expected to improve and the withdrawn parcels will be offered for sale at Petra’s Antwerp facilities during May and June 2023. This approach reflects Petra’s strategy of maintaining flexibility at its tenders to optimise pricing.
We continue to see a supportive diamond market in the medium to longer-term as a result of the structural supply deficit, despite the volatility seen in this current sale.”
Petra announces the results of Tender 5 of FY 2023, at which 468,817 carats were sold for a total of US$42.1 million from Petra’s South African operations. This cycle includes one Exceptional Stone [2], a 354.04ct near-gem quality stone that sold for US$5.6 million from our Cullinan Mine. Parcels containing 75,880 cts were withdrawn, which are now planned to be sold in May and June 2023.
These parcels contain predominantly higher valued diamonds, resulting in heavily diluted average prices for both the Cullinan Mine and Finsch. No sales for either Koffiefontein or Williamson were recorded in this cycle given the suspension of operations at both mines.
The results of Tender 5 bring FY 2023 YTD revenue from rough diamond sales to US$320.6 million, including US$12.6 million from Exceptional Stone sales, compared to US$491.8 million in the first five tenders of FY 2022, which included a US$89.1 million contribution from Exceptional Stones.
The lower volumes sold in the first five tenders of FY 2023 relative to the equivalent tenders last year is driven by lower production from the South African operations, the shutdown of Koffiefontein during H1 FY 2023 and reduced production from Williamson pending the restart planned for Q1 FY 2024.