Although it pulled its 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona Type II gem from sale in June, after it fetched a high bid of US$61 million at a Sotheby’s auction, Lucara Diamond (TSX: LUC) did just fine in its second quarter.
The company, whose sole producing asset is the rich Karowe mine in Botswana, reported earnings of US$46.1 million on revenues of US$140.8 million (US$1,824 per carat) compared with earnings of US$8.6 million on revenues of US$38.1 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Lucara ended the second quarter with US$210.8 million in cash, up from US$134.8 million at the end of 2015.
Considering that the company’s 813-carat Constellation diamond sold for US$63.1 million in May, Lucara’s management believes they can get a lot more for the Lesedi La Rona. The stone is the second-largest rough diamond recovered in history and Lucara is currently holding the gem in inventory as it considers further options for sale.
Lucara recovered 340 special stones (over 10.8 carats) during the first half of 2016, including 12 diamonds that were 100 carats or larger.
As a result of the success of its special stone tenders, In July, the company announced a special dividend of C45¢ per share (for a total of C$172 million), in addition to a regular quarterly dividend of C1.5¢ per share to be paid in September.
“We remain focused on advancing our growth opportunities while continuing our dividend policy for our shareholders to share in the continued value recreation of the
company,” said Lucara president and CEO William Lamb in a release.
Lucara is forecasting 2016 production at Karowe at 350,000 carats recovered from 2.2 to 2.4 million tonnes of processed ore.
In August, the company announced it would be installing XRT diamond recovery units to target smaller-size diamonds at Karowe — from 4 to 8 mm. The addition, which is expected to cost up to US$30 million, should be completed by the end of 2017.
“The extension of XRT technology to recover the majority of our diamonds at Karowe maximizes our overall processing efficiency and will contribute to continued strong operating margins across the entire value range for our high-quality South lobe diamonds,” Lamb noted in a release.
—This article originally appeared in the November issue of Diamonds in Canada.
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