The company now values the world’s largest diamond producer at $USD4.1 billion ($AUD6.43 billion). This move was foreshadowed during Ango American’s production report earlier this month. A statement from De Beers projected market conditions to remain challenging across the coming year.
“Consumer demand for diamond jewellery globally in 2024 is estimated to have contracted 3-4 per cent year-on-year,” the statement reads.
“In the United States, accounting for just over 50 per cent of diamond jewellery sales, demand is estimated to be down 2 per cent year-on-year, driven by a decline in the first half of the year, while the second half demonstrated stabilisation, remaining flat year-on-year.”
As trading conditions remain challenging, the miner is expected to produce between 20 million and 23 million carats in 2025. That production is expected to increase over the following two years, reaching between 26-29 million carats in 2026 and 28-31 million carats in 2027.
The statement also addressed the market impact of lab-created diamonds, suggesting that the category's impact on natural diamond sales is peaking.
“While a proportion of natural diamond demand continues to be affected in the near term by lab-grown diamonds as a result of prevailing retail margins, such margins are expected to be unsustainable in light of increasing lab-grown diamond supply volumes, greater levels of competition, and growing consumer awareness of lab-grown diamond price trends,” the report explained.
A recent report detailed the pressure on the De Beers Group as the industry navigates adverse economic conditions. The company also recently announced changes to its jewellery brand.
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