Alrosa reported a 7% drop in revenue for the year 2020, at RUB 221.5 billion ($3 billion), as the Covid pandemic led to drop in demand for diamonds and compelled it to suspend some mining activities.

Net profit for the year plunged 49% to RUB 32.2 billion ($436 million) due to lower sales revenue and the depreciation of the Russian rouble, the company said.

In Q4, revenue doubled quarter-on-quarter to RUB 98.6 billion and grew 53% year-on-year on the back of strong demand recovery toward year-end. Net profit in Q4 increased to RUB 21.3 billion, up 83%, driven by top line growth.

Alexey Philippovskiy, Alrosa’s CFO, said, “In Q4, we saw a continued recovery in demand for diamonds primarily driven by steady demand for diamond jewellery from end consumers. At the end of 2020 and during the Christmas holiday season, sales in the key US and China markets were growing at double-digit rates year-on-year.”

Meanwhile, Alrosa’s production targets for 2021 have been revised upwards from 30 million carats to 31.5 million carats on the back of the growing diamond demand and decreasing stocks of the company.

“With deposits depleting and a large diamond mine in Australia having closed, the medium term will see a decline in the global diamond supply to 110–120 million carats per year from its 152 million carats peak in 2017,” the company informed.

Photo courtesy Alrosa