Petra Diamonds has announced a leadership shake-up after reporting a worse-than-expected $69 million loss for the six months ending December 2024. 😬
🚪 Out: Richard Duffy
The company confirmed that longtime CEO Richard Duffy has stepped down “by mutual agreement and with immediate effect.”
🧑💼🧑💼 In: Two Interim CEOs
To steady the ship, Petra has appointed:
- Vivek Gadodia, Chief Restructuring Officer
- Juan Kemp, Operations Executive at the Cullinan mine in South Africa
They will serve as joint interim CEOs during this critical transition.
📉 What Went Wrong
- Losses widened significantly from $11M last year
- Ongoing weakness in the global diamond market
- Net debt rose to $215M (up from $193M in June)
- Revenue hit by sluggish demand and poor timing of tender sales
💡 Bright Spot:
- Operational cash flow turned positive, improving from a $21M outflow to a $16M inflow, driven by cost-cutting efforts
🔄 Recent Moves
- Sold off stake in Koffiefontein mine (Oct 2024)
- Agreed to sell Williamson mine in Tanzania for ~$16M (Jan 2025)
🏔️ What's Left
Petra now focuses on its two core South African assets:
- Cullinan mine (home of the world’s largest gem-quality diamond, found 120 years ago)
- Finsch mine, in the Northern Cape
👀 What’s Next
With pressure mounting and the diamond market still soft, all eyes are on the new leadership duo and how they’ll steer Petra toward stability and long-term growth.