Revenue at Mountain Province grew in the third quarter as rough availability increased and demand improved ahead of the holiday season.
Sales of rough from the Gahcho Ku mine in Canada climbed 12% year on year to $50.8 million in the three months that ended September 30, the miner said Thursday. Sales volume rose 42% to 679,599 carats, outweighing a 21% drop in the average price to $75 per carat. Although the average price fell from the previous year, it was the highest the company has reported in the past nine months.
“The company continues to successfully navigate a challenging market,” said Reid Mackie, vice president of sales and marketing at Mountain Province. “Our sales achieved 100% sell-through with no unsold stock held at the end of September and a higher average selling price than the three preceding quarters. This positions the company well to benefit from any improvements to rough-diamond demand following the solid results anticipated from the all-important US holiday season retail sales.”
Production for the period fell 10% year on year to 1.2 million carats as the company recovered lower-grade ore. The Canadian miner’s share of production came to about 582,000 carats, with the rest going to joint-venture partner De Beers. Mountain Province reported a loss of CAD 19 million ($13.7 million) as the result of foreign currency exchange losses on the payment of its debt, which is due in US dollars. The company earns money in Canadian currency, which weakened against its US counterpart, it noted.
Revenue for the first nine months slipped 13% year on year to $158.4 million, even as sales volume grew 21% to 2.2 million carats. The rise in carats sold could not offset a 28% drop in the average price to $73 per carat. Production for the January-to-September period fell 5% to 3.8 million carats, with the miner’s portion reaching approximately 1.8 million carats. Meanwhile, Mountain Province posted a net loss of CAD 18.6 million ($13.4 million) for the three quarters.
“While the diamond market has been disappointing during the period, I am optimistic that the price environment will recover during 2025,” said Mountain Province CEO Mark Wall, adding that the company would assess its financial needs throughout the coming year amid “different diamond price environments.”
Image: Trucks hauling ore at Gahcho Ku mine. (Mountain Province)