De Beers anticipates losses as it discounts diamond inventory
As a result of challenging conditions for rough diamond trading, De Beers is bracing for half-year losses from its diamond sales business.
This is after the diamond miner sold off some of its stockpile of rough diamonds at discounted after US-imposed tariffs dealt a major blow to polished diamond trading in the second quarter of 2025.
Further, weaker prices in the rough diamond business have gone down by 5% on average for De Beers and have indicated a 14% decline in the index price.
Amid these difficult conditions, De Beers also sold about 800,000 carats of diamonds at discounts from its stockpile in the second quarter.
According to reports, the stockpile is worth $2 billion in unsold goods.
The outcome for De Beers was higher second quarter revenue as the stock was cleared ($1.19 billion in 2025 versus $ 1.04billion in 2024), which was sold at major discounts. De Beers’ consolidated rough-diamond sales — excluding those by its joint-venture partners — rose 14 percent year on year to $1.19 billion in the second quarter.
Still, the average price of sales — also on a consolidated basis — rose 23% year on year to $174 per carat for the quarter. This was consistent with strong demand for higher-value diamonds.
The miner’s average rough-price index, which excludes the stock rebalancing sales, fell 13 percent for the period compared with a year earlier.
This likely reflects price cuts De Beers implemented at the December 2024 sight.
For the first half of 2025, consolidated rough sales dipped 13 percent to $1.71 billion, while sales volume decreased 8% to 11 million carats on a consolidated basis. Sales declined 3% in total to 12.3 million carats.
Those volumes benefited from “stock rebalancing initiatives” that saw De Beers sell specific assortments at lower margins, Anglo American explained in its quarterly production report.
“Accordingly, we expect to report negative underlying EBITDA for De Beers in the first half of 2025. A formal process for the sale of De Beers is advancing despite the market difficulties,” Anglo said in its trading statement.
De Beers has attracted interest from at least six consortia, including commodities billionaire Anil Agarwal, Indian diamond firms and Qatari investment funds. Owned 85 percent by Anglo American , this comes at a time in which the miner is looking to sell its diamond business as part of its portfolio simplification strategy unveiled in May last year.
“Improved industry sentiment at the end of the first quarter led to stabilization of polished-diamond prices. But uncertainty surrounding US tariffs announced in April subsequently slowed polished trading. Consumer demand for diamond jewellery remained broadly stable in the first half, in contrast to the difficult conditions in the trade,” Anglo American reported
De Beers trimmed its production by 36% to 4.1 million carats for the second quarter in response to the market downturn. First-half output dived 23% to 10.2 million carats. The company has kept its 2025 production plan steady at 20 million to 23 million carats, but it continues to monitor rough-diamond trading conditions.
