De Beers rough diamond revenue slumps
The company’s revenue continues to slide as it reports $490m in its second sales event of the year
De Beers, the largest source of rough diamonds by value, reported the lowest level of rough diamond sales for February since it started releasing the data in 2016, achieving $490m. De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American, has 10 sales events a year, including the allocation of specific diamonds to about 80 hand-selected clients at events called sights in Gaborone, as well as auctions. The $490m realised in the second sale of 2019 was a continuation of the weak start to the year, with the first sale of the year of $500m similarly falling far short of earlier sales. Sales revenue in the second sales event since 2016 have realised $617m, $553m and $563m, respectively, in the three years since then. It’s the first time since De Beers started releasing data on its 10 sales that revenue is below $1bn in the first two events of the year. “Demand for rough diamonds remains consistent during the second sales cycle of 2019. While overall demand for lower-value rough diamonds remains su...
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