ALROSA Sells Diamonds Worth US$294 Million in August

Russian diamond producer ALROSA (MCX:ALRS) sold a whopping US$294.9 million worth of rough and polished diamonds last month. The high amount of sales represents a 14 percent year-over-year revenue increase for the diamond miner.

The vast majority of the sales were for rough, uncut diamonds, which accounted for US$283.2 million of the nearly US$300 million in sales revenue. The remainder, US$11.7 million, came from polished diamond sales.

The latest sales confirm the company’s continued revenue growth trend, which has been ongoing since the beginning of the year. To date, ALROSA has sold US$3.323 billion worth of gems in 2018.

With another three months left in 2018, ALROSA is set to increase its yearly revenues by well over 10 percent.

Between January and August of 2018, the diamond producer grew coffers by 9 percent year-on-year. Of that, US$3.256 billion came from rough stones, while US$67 million was brought in through polished diamond sales.

“Despite traditional August market slowdown, sales of both rough and polished diamonds were much higher than a year before,” said Yury Okoemov, ALROSA deputy CEO sales, in the company announcement.

“Positive trends in diamond jewelry sales observed since the beginning of the year contribute to stable demand for almost the entire range of our products, especially for high-price rough diamonds.”

In recent months, ALROSA has undertaken a number of creative and interesting sales initiatives. Last month, the international jeweler sold its 51-carat Dynasty diamond, the largest gem in the Dynasty collection. The five-diamond collection celebrated the Russian royal dynasty, the Romanovs.

The Russian miner also capitalized off the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, unveiling a line of diamonds celebrating each participatory country.

The sales over 2018 have left ALROSA looking to the rest of the year and 2019 with optimism.

“Basically, we maintain moderately positive outlook for the rough and polished diamond market growth in 2018. In the medium term, rough diamond sales will be supported by the growing demand for diamond jewelry in the main jewelry consuming countries – the US, China and India,” added Okoemov.

ALROSA shares were up 4 percent on Monday (September 10), trading at RUB 104.06.

Image shows Udachny open-pit mine. Courtesy of ALROSA.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.