In a sign that it was recovering from a slump in 2016, brought about mainly by the Indian currency reform that adversely impacted demand from its Indian long-term clients, Russian state-controlled diamond miner ALROSA reported revenue of RUB 84.8 billion ($1.5 billion) for the first quarter of 2017, a 38 percent rise over revenue in the immediate previous quarter.

The result was, however, 17 percent lower in a year-on-year comparison with the first quarter of 2016, when demand had surged due the to diamond processing industry vigorously restocking after a difficult 2015.

Pre-tax earnings were RUB 35.2 billion ($623.2 million), with an earnings margin of 42 percent. Net earnings stood at RUB 22.7 billion ($402 million).

ALROSA CEO Sergey Ivanov observed, “We delivered better results compared to late 2016 due to the recovery of demand from Indian rough diamond consumers, after a temporary decline caused by the monetary reform. The company’s margins were affected by the appreciation of the rouble, but what I would like to emphasise here is the success of our cost control program, which ensured a minimum increase in our production costs.”

https://www.gemkonnect.com/news/recovering-demand-india-sees-alrosa-revenues-climb