Gem Diamonds reduced its net debt position by $4.7 million to $5.5 million during the first half of the year as a result of positive cash generation.
The company had cash on hand of $17.5 million at 30 June 2020 compared with $13.8 million, the previous year.
Its revenue for the period under review was $69.5 million compared with $91.3 million, a year earlier.
The decreased revenue was mainly driven by lower sales volumes combined with deferring the sale of the small diamonds to September 2020.
Gem said the lower sales volumes were a direct result of the loss of production due to the temporary suspension of operations at Letšeng as a result of COVID-19.
“Letšeng delivered satisfactory operational results notwithstanding the imposed shutdown of 30 days during the Period to curb the spread of COVID-19,” said Gem Diamonds chief executive Clifford Elphick. “The frequency of large diamonds recovered improved in all size categories greater than 10.8 carats when compared to the previous period.”
He said the sales results during the period demonstrated the continued demand for Letšeng’s high quality diamonds, achieving an average price of $1 707 per carat compared to $1 697 per carat, a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the group recovered 43 275 carats, a decrease of 23.6% from 56, 668 carats produced in the first half of 2019.
The drop in output was mainly as a result of no tonnes being treated during the shutdown period and reduced tonnes during the ramp-up phase.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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