Petra Diamonds announced that its diamond production increased by 17% to 3.1 million carats in the 2014 financial year ending June 30, compared to 2.7 million carats in diamonds from the same period last fiscal year.
The increase in production is due to improved production performance at the Finsch mines, Williamson, Koffiefontein mines and Kimberley underground mines.
The company's diamond output exceeded the expected market share of 3 million carats.
Petra notes that diamond production could exceed 3.1 million carats in the case of a more successful operation of the Cullinan and Helam mines.
The diamond output of the Cullinan project declined 5% to 823,619 carats during the year, compared with 868,975 carats of diamonds, a year earlier, due to a decrease in the average diamond content of up to 27.8 carats per hundred tons.
During the reporting period, 35,148 carats of diamonds were extracted at the Helam mine, 32% less than in the previous financial year (52,011 carats).
Meanwhile, Petra's revenue for the fiscal year 2014 jumped 17% to $ 472.6 million from $ 402.7 million, a year earlier.
The sales volume showed an increase of 23% to 3.1 million carats compared to 2.5 million carats sold in the previous year, which corresponds to the trend of production growth.