BHP Billiton Annual Diamond Revenues $896 Million

Multi commodity miner BHP Billiton reported a 7.5 percent decline in income from its Diamonds and Specialty Products segment, totaling $896 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009.

Underlying EBIT segment, which includes titanium minerals in addition to diamonds, fell 23.3 percent to $145 million.

Underlying EBIT at the Canadian diamond mine Ekati was impacted by a decrease in sales and prices. This was offset by a stronger U.S. dollar, higher value per carat of production and improved plant recoveries.

Profit from the diamond and specialty products operations was $75 million.

The company noted an increase in exploration costs due to increased spending on potash in Canada which was offset by lower diamonds exploration.

Total BHP Billiton group revenue in the year reached $50.21 billion, falling 15.6 percent year-over-year.