Alrosa Posts Rise in Revenue and Profits Soar

Russian miner Alrosa reported a 9-percent rise in revenue on the year to $1.33 billion in the second calendar quarter of this year.

The firm said that diamond sales jumped by 14 percent to 8.8 million carats, with the breakdown showing sales of gem-quality diamond sales soaring 25 percent to 6.9 million carats, while sales of industrial diamonds sales dropped 14 percent to 1.9 million carats.

The company said that growth was boosted by a higher amount of diamond sales, which offset falling prices in the quarter.

Alrosa posted a more than doubling of profit to $259 million.

Diamond inventory at the end of the second quarter was 8 percent lower than at the start of the year – with a worth of $772 million.

The average price per carat of its gem-quality diamonds sold in the quarter slipped by 8 percent to $191.4, but compared with the first quarter rough prices were up 7 percent.

Group revenue for the first half of 2013 increased by 7 percent on a year earlier to $2.55 billion, but profit dropped 10 percent to $453 million as a result of foreign exchange losses and higher interest costs