De Beers Rough Sales Dip to $332m
December 22, 21
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today reported a dip to $332m (provisional) in sales at its final sight of 2021 - exactly half the $664m peak of its first sight of the year.
The figure for Cycle 10 earlier this month (including all sales 6 to 21 December), was down almost a quarter on Cycle 9, which ended in early November.
The UK-based miner said sales had been impacted by the closure of factories in southern Africa for Christmas, though it made no mention of factories in India, where many workers are down to a three-day week.
Sales during Cycle 10 were down 27 per cent year-on-year from $452m in 2020. The equivalent figure for 2019 was $426m.
Despite this month's dip, annual rough sales for 2021 were higher than pre-pandemic 2019, said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.
"Rough diamond demand and midstream sentiment continued to be positive in the final sales cycle of 2021, although as anticipated we saw some impact on sales ahead of the seasonal closure of polishing factories in southern Africa over the Christmas period."