Petra Diamonds Limited

H1 FY 2024 Operating Update

Petra reports its operating results for the first half of FY 2024

Richard Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of Petra, commented:

"Production increased 2% in this period as operations continued to stabilise at Finsch and Cullinan Mines and Williamson continued its ramp-up to full production. We remain on track to meet our FY 2024 production guidance of 2.9 - 3.2 Mct although, as announced on 01 November 2023, we expect it will be towards the lower end of guidance. We continue to make good progress on the CC1E development project at Cullinan Mine and the 78-Level Phase II development project at Finsch, and the resumption of the deferred capital programmes remains on target for July 2024. The replanning and value-engineering work associated with the deferred capital projects continues and, once completed, the Company will inform the market of the expected impact on forward looking guidance.

While we are seeing encouraging indications of price recovery and some stabilisation in the rough diamond market, following actions taken by both producers and the mid-stream, we continue to adopt a cautious approach to the market in the near-term. Once completed, the additional headroom afforded by our increased Revolving Credit Facility will enable us to continue our flexible sales approach and position ourselves to take advantage of any market improvements."

Highlights vs H1 FY 2023

·    LTIFR and LTIs decreased to 0.15 and 5 respectively

·    Ore processed increased 8% to 5.8Mt largely due to the successful ramp-up of production at Williamson

·    Total diamond production increased 2% to 1.43 million carats mainly due to resuming operations at Williamson and increased ROM contribution at Finsch, partially offset by slightly lower grades at the Cullinan Mine

·    Support from a weaker South African Rand continued throughout the period, with the Rand averaging ZAR18.69 : US$1 (H1 FY 2023: ZAR17.32 : US$1)

·    Revenue amounted to US$187.8 million (H1 FY 2023: US$208.5 million)

o  As announced on 14 December 2023, like-for-like prices were down 13.3% compared to H1 FY 2023 sales, with the balance of price movements attributable to product mix

o  No profit share uplifts were effected during the period; H1 FY 2023 revenue includes US$1.4 million from profit share arrangements

·    Consolidated net debt increased to US$212.3 million as at 31 December 2023 (30 June 2023: US$176.8 million) due to the timing of closing the Company's sales tenders, the continued lower diamond pricing environment, working capital funding for the resumption of mining at Williamson and the increasing capex spend profile, as previously announced, to extend the life of our operations at Cullinan Mine and Finsch

Operating Summary

¹ Revenue reflects proceeds from the sale of rough diamonds and excludes revenue from profit share arrangements (as noted in the text above)

² Petra classifies "Exceptional Stones" as rough diamonds which sell for US$15 million or more each

INVESTOR WEBCASTS

Webcast presentation for institutional investors and analysts

09:30am GMT today

Petra's CEO, Richard Duffy, and CFO, Jacques Breytenbach, will host a webcast for institutional investors and analysts to discuss this operating update.

Please register at: https://brrmedia.news/PDL_H1FY24OU

Dial in details:

UK-wide                                  +44 (0) 33 0551 0200

UK toll free                              0808 109 0700

South Africa toll free               0800 980 512

United States (Local)              +1 786 697 3501

09:30am password (if prompted): Petra Diamonds

Link for recording (available later in the day): 

https://www.petradiamonds.com/investors/results-reports/

Investor Meet Company webcast at 14.30pm GMT today

Petra's CEO, Richard Duffy, and CFO, Jacques Breytenbach, will also present these results live on the Investor Meet Company platform, predominantly aimed at retail investors. To join: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/petra-diamonds-limited/register-investor

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please contact

Petra Diamonds, London                                                    Telephone: +44 207494 8203

Patrick Pittaway                                                                      investorrelations@petradiamonds.com

Julia Stone

Kelsey Traynor

Financial PR (Camarco)

Gordon Poole                                                                          Telephone: +44 20 3757 4980

Owen Roberts                                                                         petradiamonds@camarco.co.uk

Elfie Kent

ABOUT PETRA DIAMONDS

Petra Diamonds is a leading independent diamond mining group and a supplier of gem quality rough diamonds to the international market. The Company's portfolio incorporates interests in three underground mines in South Africa (Cullinan Mine, Finsch and Koffiefontein) and one open pit mine in Tanzania (Williamson). The Koffiefontein mine is currently on care and maintenance in preparation for sale or closure.

Petra's strategy is to focus on value rather than volume production by optimising recoveries from its high-quality asset base in order to maximise their efficiency and profitability. The Group has a significant resource base which supports the potential for long-life operations.

Petra strives to conduct all operations according to the highest ethical standards and only operates in countries which are members of the Kimberley Process. The Company aims to generate tangible value for each of its stakeholders, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of its host countries and supporting long-term sustainable operations to the benefit of its employees, partners and communities.

Petra is quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker 'PDL'. The Company's loan notes due in 2026 are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and admitted to trading on the Global Exchange Market. For more information, visit www.petradiamonds.com.

Corporate and financial summary 31 December 2023

Note:  The following exchange rates have been used for this announcement: average for H1 FY 2024 US$1: ZAR18.69 (H1 FY 2023: US$1: ZAR17.32; FY 2023: US$1: ZAR17.77); closing rate as at 31 December 2023 US$1: ZAR18.28 (31 December 2022: US$1: ZAR17.00, 30 June 2023: US$1: ZAR18.83).

Notes:

1.     The Group's cash balances comprise unrestricted balances of US$56.5 million, and restricted balances of US$18.9 million.

2.     Recorded at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

3.     Diamond inventories for periods prior to 30 June 2023 include the Williamson 71,654.45 carat parcel of diamonds blocked for export during August 2017, with a carrying value of US$12.5 million. Under the Framework Agreement entered into with the Government of Tanzania (GoT) in December 2021, it is stated that the proceeds from the sale of this parcel are to be applied to the Williamson mine to assist with the restart of operations and that in the event such proceeds are not received by Williamson, Williamson is not required to pay a US$20 million liability relating to the settlement of past tax disputes. During discussions, the GoT confirmed that the blocked parcel was partially sold during the period and so this parcel has been excluded from diamond inventories as at 30 June 2023. During these discussions, the parties also confirmed their intent to resolve how to treat the blocked parcel sale proceeds and the related US$20 million settlement liability.

4.     The 2026 US$336.7 million loan notes, originally issued following the capital restructuring (the "Restructuring") completed during March 2021, have a carrying value of US$249.2 million which represents the outstanding principal amount of US$209.7 million (after the early participation phase of the debt tender offers as announced in September and October 2022) plus US$48.2 million of accrued interest and net of unamortised transaction costs capitalised of US$8.7 million.

5.     Bank loans and borrowings represent the Group's revolving credit facility, which was increased from ZAR1 billion in December 2023 to ZAR1.75 billion, and is partially undrawn and available. The upsized portion will be imminently available upon conclusion of the required amendments.

6.     Consolidated Net Debt is bank loans and borrowings plus loan notes, less cash and diamond debtors.

Mine-by-mine tables:

Cullinan Mine - South Africa

Note: 1. Petra is not able to precisely measure the ROM / tailings grade split because ore from both sources is processed through the same plant; the Company therefore back-calculates the grade with reference to resource grades.

Finsch - South Africa

Note: 1. Petra is not able to precisely measure the ROM / tailings grade split because ore from both sources is processed through the same plant; the Company therefore back-calculates the grade with reference to resource grades.

Williamson - Tanzania

Notes:

1.     The following definitions have been used in this announcement:

a.     cpht: carats per hundred tonnes

b.     LTIs: lost time injuries

c.     LTIFR: lost time injury frequency rate, calculated as the number of LTIs multiplied by 200,000 and divided by the number of hours worked

d.     FY: financial year ending 30 June

e.     CY: calendar year ending 31 December

f.      H: half of the financial year

g.     ROM: run-of-mine (i.e. production from the primary orebody)

h.     m: million

i.      Mt: million tonnes

j.      Mct: million carats

k.     Like-for-like: refers to the change in realised prices between tenders and excludes revenue from all single stones and Exceptional Stones, while normalising for the product mix impact