Petra Diamonds sticks to output target despite strikes

LONDON (Reuters) - Petra Diamonds Ltd said on Monday it was on track to hit its production target for the coming financial year, despite more than two weeks of disruption from strikes affecting over a third of output. Petra, publishing full year results for the year to the end of June 2013, said adjusted net profit after tax rose 22 percent to $48.3 million. Core profit, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), rose just over a third to $122.4 million, broadly in line with analyst expectations. The company, which has seven producing mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania, was hit by strikes in South Africa beginning on August 29, but said on Monday that normal operations would resume from September 16. Thanks to what it said was a strong production run rate at the start to the year, the group said it remained on track to increase production around 12 percent to 3 million carats. That compares to production for the year ended June 30, 2013 of 2.7 million carats, according to numbers released in July. Petra Diamonds, whose customers are primarily in India, the United States and China, gets most of its production from five mines that it bought from Anglo American Plc's De Beers unit, the world's biggest diamond producer by value. It plans to increase production to 5 million carats by its 2019 financial year.