Gem Diamonds profit falls 69% on weaker diamond prices

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Diamond miner Gem Diamonds reported a 69% fall in annual profit, pinned on a weaker diamond prices.

Pre-tax profit for the year through December from continuing operations fell to $24.1m, down from $78.7m on-year.

Revenue fell to $182.0m, down from $267.3m.

The company achieved an average diamond value of $1,637 per carat, down from $2,131 in 2018.

'The challenging operating and market conditions in 2019 required Gem Diamonds to demonstrate its resilience,' chairman Harry Kenyon-Slaney said.

'The prolonged weakness in the rough diamond market affected producers across the industry.'

'Drivers underlying this trend included an oversupply of rough diamonds and funding issues affecting buying patterns in the middle market.

'While the prices achieved for Letseng's high-quality goods had held up in 2017 and 2018, during 2019 prices were impacted by the overall weakness in the market.'

At 2:24pm: (LON:GEMD) Gem Diamonds Ltd share price was -5.5p at 42.95p