Lucara Diamond Corp has reported revenue of $ 90.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, marginally below the figure of $ 91.3 for the same quarter last year. The company has mining and exploration operations in Botswana and is currently divesting the stake it held in the Mothae project in Lesotho.

This translated into an average price per carat of $1,081 per carat during Q3, with an operating margin of $ 951 per carat or 88%, which is largely due to the Company’s first exceptional stone tender in 2015, which achieved proceeds of $68.7 million from the sale of 1,674 carats.

Revenue for the first nine months of the year at $ 158.6 million was almost 19% down from the revenue of $ 195 mn during the same period last year. Average price per carat was $ 560 achieving a 77% operating margin, the company said.

Lucara’s EBITDA for the period was $66.8 million and year to date was $95.3 million, while the company’s net cash position of $122.7 million increased from $74 million at June 2015 following the first exceptional stone tender and regular tender during the quarter.

Carats recovered at Karowe were down 5% to 100,651. During the quarter a total of 160 special stones (+10.8 carats) were recovered at an average size of 33.49 carats, an increase of 34% compared to full year 2014. The largest stone recovered during the quarter included a 336 carat stone from the south lobe, which is expected to be sold along with twelve other stones in the second Exceptional Stone Tender of 2015.

Lucara stated that the diamond industry continued to see softer prices, specifically in the small and medium size classes as a result of large volumes of polished inventories which have increased due to a reduction in consumption in the Asia Pacific region. The Company foresees a prolonged weakness in smaller lower quality goods due to the current high levels of inventories held.

William Lamb, President and Chief Executive Officer commented “Karowe continued to deliver strong cash flows in Q3, underpinned by the sale of our large, high value diamonds and our disciplined approach to cost control and allocation of capital. Further, demand for our diamonds remains high and we anticipate continued, robust free cash flow to help deliver strong shareholder returns going forward.”