De Beers swings to $189m loss in H1 as costs and demand weaken
De Beers has posted an adjusted EBITDA lack of $189m (£142.9m) for the primary half of 2025, in contrast with a $300m (£226.9m) earnings throughout the identical interval in 2024.
The group stated the loss was pushed by a falling tough diamond worth index and the sale of particular assortments at decrease margins as a consequence of inventory rebalancing measures.
De Beers’ income additionally declined to $2.0bn (£1.51bn), down from $2.2bn (£1.66bn) within the first half of 2024, whereas tough diamond gross sales fell 13% to $1.7bn (£1.29bn), reflecting subdued demand and decrease realised costs.
Moreover, the consolidated common realised worth slipped 5% to $155 (£117.2) per carat, affected by a 14% decline within the common tough worth index. This was partially offset by elevated demand for higher-value stones within the second quarter.
Tough diamond manufacturing additionally dropped 23% to 10.2 million carats, down from 13.3 million carats a yr earlier, because the group scaled again output in response to weaker demand and elevated stock ranges.
In Botswana, output fell 26% to 7.2 million carats following deliberate manufacturing cuts at Jwaneng and Orapa, prolonged upkeep at Orapa, and the inserting of Letlhakane Tailings Therapy Plant on care and upkeep.
In the meantime, manufacturing in Namibia and South Africa remained flat at 1.2 million and 1.1 million carats respectively.
In Namibia, decrease output at Debmarine was balanced by higher-grade mining and higher recoveries at Namdeb. In South Africa, the Venetia underground mission continued to yield decrease volumes than prior open-pit operations, though De Beers expects output to develop because the mission progresses.
In Canada, manufacturing additionally dropped 43% to 0.8 million carats as a result of deliberate therapy of lower-grade ore.
The group stated that it had continued to ship its Origins technique, geared toward boosting the attraction of pure diamonds by strategic partnerships and focused advertising and marketing. It additionally reaffirmed its dedication to cost-saving targets and ongoing model repositioning underneath the De Beers London label.
Trying forward, the corporate stated near-term buying and selling circumstances stay subdued as a consequence of tariff-related uncertainty and broader geopolitical and macroeconomic dangers. Nevertheless, it famous rising demand for verified provenance, supported by its blockchain traceability platform Tracr.
De Beers maintained its 2025 manufacturing steerage at 20–23 million carats and a unit price steerage of round $94 (£71.11) per carat. The primary half unit price of $87 (£65.8) per carat was beneath steerage, attributed to mine sequencing at Venetia and upkeep scheduling at Debmarine Namibia.
De Beers stated: “Tough diamond buying and selling circumstances remained difficult within the first half of 2025 as each the diamond midstream and downstream adopted a cautious method to restocking amid broader market uncertainty, coupled with continued surplus polished stock within the midstream.”
