MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) - Alrosa, Russia's largest diamond miner, said on Thursday it sold diamonds worth $1.73 billion in January-October 2009.
"Overall, Alrosa sold diamonds and cut diamonds worth $1.73 billion in the ten months of the year, including almost $1 billion in the third quarter," Alrosa said in a statement.
Alrosa CEO Fyodor Andreyev said earlier the company intended to sell diamonds worth $2.75 billion in 2009 or about the same volume it sold in 2008.
Alrosa, which accounts for 97% of Russian and 25% of global diamond output, stepped up its diamond sale policy amid increasing demand on raw diamond markets, the statement said.
Alrosa sold the diamonds at fair prices, contributing to diamond market predictability and stability, primarily through direct sales to large producers of quality diamonds, the statement said.
Alrosa's key medium-term goal is to cut its liabilities, the statement said.
"As of June 1, 2009, Alrosa's debts stood at over $5 billion. The company expects its loan portfolio to drop to $3.86 billion by the end of 2009. The debt burden is intended to be reduced by restoring diamond sales and selling non-core assets," the statement said.
Alrosa posted a net loss under Russian Accounting Standards of 14.7 billion rubles ($490 million) in the first half of 2009, compared with a net profit of 3.4 billion rubles ($13 million) in the same period last year.
