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Namdia increases sales by 17%, sells over 300,000 carats in 2018/19

Namdia increases sales by 17%, sells over 300,000 carats in 2018/19

Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) recorded 10 sales during the period 2018/19, totalling 304,033 carats for an average of US$ 552.58 per carat, the company’s annual report for 2018/19 indicates.

Namdia, which has sold over 758,453 carats since its inception, has seen the full year profit after tax amounting to N$161.9 million, up 16% from the prior year’s N$139 million. Increased sales of 17% due to increased Namdeb Holdings Mining output, resulted in the profit before tax of N$238.6 million.

According to Namdia CEO, Kennedy Hamutenya, during the 2018/19 period, the company has been able to use part of its own cash reserves to buy rough diamonds when their allocation of rough diamonds entitlement from the Namibia Diamond Trading Company was unusually high due to disproportionate and unusual high production from the mine.

“We remain cautiously optimistic going forward as experience has taught us that the diamond industry is susceptible to global economic traumas and negative cycles, global political instability and consumer confidence,” Hamutenya said.

During the period under review, Namdia paid an export levy of N$22.6 million for the full year and declare its first dividend of N$50 million to its sole shareholder, the government in 2019.


 

About The Author

Donald Matthys

Donald Matthys has been part of the media fraternity since 2015. He has been working at the Namibia Economist for the past three years mainly covering business, tourism and agriculture. Donald occasionally refers to himself as a theatre maker and has staged two theatre plays so far. Follow him on twitter at @zuleitmatthys