Rockwell's FY Revenue +39%, Loss Narrows to $10M

Rockwell Diamonds reported that revenue rose 39 percent year on year to $41.6 million (CAD 45.2 million) in the fiscal year that ended on February 28. The average per carat value of rough diamonds sold rose 13 percent to $1,484 while the volume of carats sold rose 27 percent to 26,272 carats. Rockwell narrowed its fiscal loss to $9.6 million (CAD 10.4 million) compared to a loss of $12.7 million (CAD 13.8 million) one year ago. Diamond production during 2013 grew 27 percent to 27,776 carats. Rockwell carried over inventory of 2,752 carats, which included 1,181 carats of royalty mining contracts. The company's beneficiation joint venture with Diacore also held over 6,000 carats, which will provide additional future revenue potential. Rockwell held a cash balance of $1.2 million (CAD 1.3 million) at the close of the year after capital investments of $8 million (CAD 8.7 million) in new processing capacity. Gross diamond sales jumped 52 percent to $37.8 million (CAD 41.1 million), while beneficiation income reached $3.8 million (CAD 4.1 million). Rockwell's CEO, James Campbell, noted that the company's fiscal performance reflected its operational turnaround and its core focus on the Middle Orange River  region of South Africa. During 2013, the company delivered two new mines, namely the Saxendrift Hill Complex and Niewejaarskraal. Both mines were funded internally from cash reserves which more than doubled the company's Middle Orange River production capacity to 340,000 cubic meters per month. "Having met our short-term target to have three producing mines in the Middle Orange River, our production profile is now more flexible and sustainable. We are pleased too, that diamond quality and the frequency of larger stones has improved as anticipated. This included the recovery of 12 stones between 50 carats and 100 carats and five plus 100 carat rough diamonds in fiscal 2014, the largest of which was a 287 carat stone, the biggest stone recovered in recorded history in the region," Campbell added. The company remains focused on increasing production from and extending the life of mine of its Middle Orange River properties while managing its operating costs.