LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Mining group Petra Diamonds revealed on Monday that losses had widened in the six months ended 31 December and that chief executive Richard Duffy had resigned, with immediate effect.
Petra Diamonds said interim losses had widened from $11.0m in H124 to $69.0m in H125, principally due to a prolonged period of weakness in the market. Adjusted underlying earnings were $15.0m, down from $38.0m a year earlier, while revenues were 30% lower year-on-year at $115.0m.

Net debt increased from $193.0m at the start of the year to $215.0m at the halfway point, also due to a weak market and the timing of certain tender sales. Free cash flow improved to $16.0m throughout the half, a marked improvement on H124's $21.0m outflow, while average mining and processing costs were down 19% to $98.0m.

The London-listed firm, which has been in the process of restructuring operations as part of a cost-cutting programme, also appointed chief restructuring officer Vivek Gadodia and Juan Kemp, operations executive at its Cullinan mine, as joint chief executives on an interim basis, taking over from Duffy who resigned "by mutual agreement".

As of 0900 GMT, Petra Diamonds shares had sunk 16.41% to 24.24p.











Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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