Dominion Diamond reports drop in sales in Q3

Dominion Diamond Corporation, a Canadian diamond mining company has announced its results for the third quarter ((August through October) of the fiscal year 2016. The said three months delivered a drop in sales, from $222.3 million in the previous year corresponding quarter to now stand at $145 million.

The company noted that rough sales were restrained by the difficult polished market conditions, and they were further impacted by a reduction in the level of rough diamond manufacturing capacity. The company lowered prices at the August sale and prices remained flat in the second sale of the third quarter.

The polished diamond market, according to the company remained subdued with only the US retail market providing any positive demand. The Chinese market remained weak as the major retailers are continuing to sell down their inventory. The Indian retail market remained flat.

The company’s profits in the current third quarter stood at $4.1 million, down from $59.4 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

Also, the sale of diamonds from Ekati mine increased in volume, to 480,000 carats (458,000 carats in the same quarter last year.) But the value of the sale dropped around 38 percent to $88.2 million.

Commenting on the results, Brendan Bell, Chief Executive Officer stated: “We are pleased to report positive free cash flow and positive earnings in what is currently a challenging diamond market. We are near the end of what was always going to be a transitional year at Ekati and have a strong balance sheet. Misery Main is on budget and on schedule for first production at beginning of next year. We are nearing the finishing line on the Jay Environmental Assessment, and the development of A-21 at Diavik continues to progress on schedule and on budget.”oration