Rand strength piles pressure on Petra Diamonds as losses widen to $188m

Petra Diamonds reported a net loss after tax of $188 million for the six months to December 2025, compared with a $69 million loss a year earlier, as a stronger South African rand ate into diamond revenue even though average realised prices had recovered somewhat from a very weak base.

Average realised prices came in at $104 per carat, roughly unchanged from the prior period but above the $87 per carat averaged across 2025 as a whole, while prices fell by about a fifth between the first and second quarters covered by the results. Operating cash flow swung to an outflow of $6 million, from a positive $16 million a year earlier, and net debt rose to $284 million as of 31 December.

Currency does the damage

Management was explicit that currency, not just diamond prices, was now a central risk to the business. "The continued strength of the rand going forward remains a risk to the business," the company said, since Petra's costs are largely rand-denominated while its diamond sales are priced in dollars — meaning a stronger rand erodes margins even when dollar prices hold steady.

Inventory builds up

Petra ended the period holding 608,217 carats of inventory valued at $46 million, up sharply from 385,878 carats worth $40 million a year earlier, a sign that the company — like De Beers and others across the industry — was choosing to hold back stock rather than sell into weak demand. Management said it would continue "strict cost control, assessing capital deferral or alternate capital sequencing opportunities" to manage the combination of currency and price pressure.

A warning sign for what followed

The results, covering South Africa's Cullinan and Finsch mines, foreshadowed the far more drastic action Petra would be forced to take just months later, when it placed Finsch into business rescue. The rand-strength warning also highlighted a risk factor specific to South African diamond producers that miners in dollar-pegged or more stable currency regimes, such as those in Botswana, did not face to the same degree.

Sources

• Miningmx: Petra Diamonds warns rand strength a major headwind, 27 Feb 2026

Photo: The Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa, one of two Petra Diamonds operations hit by rand strength. Paul Parsons (paulus.parsons@gmail.com), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.