Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa has disclosed a 7% decline in net profit for the first nine months of 2023, amounting to $975 million (RUB 87.9 billion), IDEX Online reports.
The 3rd quarter revenue of $871 million reflects a 7% decrease from the previously reported Q2 revenue of $936 million although it marks a 55% increase compared to Q3 2022 revenue.
In a strategic move to counter diminishing demand trends, Alrosa temporarily suspended rough diamond sales in September and October. Alrosa’s H1 2023 sales totaled $1.9 billion, a marginal 0.2% increase from H1 2022, and a 3.5% rise from H1 2021, while net profit for H1 2023 fell 35% year-on-year to $562.5 million.
Despite Western sanctions having limited impact post the Ukraine invasion in February 2022, the company faces new G7 restrictions set to be implemented from January 1, 2024. Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, recently told reporters that the G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds are “hardly news”.
According to a report by state-run news agency Tass, quoted by IDEX Online, Peskov stated: “The sanctions on diamonds are hardly news. And, correspondingly, our companies in this sector are well aware of the risk they face. And, of course, they seek to hedge these risks.”
