Russia’s Alrosa diamond sales surge nearly 50% in one month year-on-year

Russian gem miner Alrosa recorded a 47% increase in rough diamond sales in August 2021 compared to the same time last year, with revenue from product sales of $306 million, according to the latest data released by the company.

However, Alrosa's revenue from product sales in August was 8.4% lower than in the previous month, the company noted. In total, since the beginning of 2021, diamond products worth $2.976 billion have been sold compared to $1.244 billion a year earlier.

The producer said the sales of polished diamonds in August were lower than expected, with only $10 million worth sold, which is a 31.5% decrease against August 2020. However, the company remains optimistic with regard to further sales.

“Despite the traditional slowing down of activity in the cutting sector in the summer, strong demand for rough diamonds continued this year. In the future, we expect the supply of rough diamonds to customers to stabilize against the backdrop of recovery in production, which will allow us to take advantage of the favorable market conditions,” Alrosa CEO Evgeny Agureev stated in the company’s report.

Alrosa is one of the three largest diamond-mining companies in the world and the leading diamond-mining company by volume, with a 25% share in global diamond production. Another 6% falls on the Angolan company Catoca, in which Alrosa has a 41% stake.

Alrosa’s shareholders include Russia’s  Federal Agency for State Property Management (33.02%) and the Yakutia region, where the majority of Alrosa production takes place (25%), but nearly 34% of the company’s shares are in free circulation.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section