In the first quarter of 2010, Gem Diamonds achieved sales worth $42.9 million, indicating an 11 percent rise, reports say. The company sold 47,754 carats of roughs indicating a 73.3 percent drop in volume terms, but at a 315.9 percent rise in value, as the average price of roughs sold amounted to $898.35 per carat, reports say.
Sales at the company’s Letseng mine in Lesotho reflected 20 percent increase to $27.1 million, with the average rough price rising 72 percent to $1,753 per carat, as compared to the same quarter last year. In terms of volume of sales at Letseng, it dipped 30 percent to 15,468 carats, reports add.
Sales at the company’s Ellendale mine in Australia dropped 2 percent to $15.8 million, with the average rough prices indicating a 379 percent upswing to $489 per carat. Although in terms of volume, sales dipped 79 percent to 32,286 carats.
At the end of the said three months, the company’s cash holdings were $88.5 million with nil debt, reports say.