The De Beers-Namibian government joint venture Namdeb expects to produce some 1.5 million carats of diamonds in 2011, Managing Director Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi announced last week, after the company released production and sales results for 2010, which it called an "extraordinary" year.

Zaamwani-Kamwi noted that Namdeb enjoyed strong price growth in 2010, and a combination of cost efficiencies and cash management, supported by strong demand for rough diamonds helped to make the year profitable.

Namdeb's total carats sold increased by 12% to 1.522 million carats while production increased by 58%, driven by consumer demand following strong recovery in the diamond markets.

Revenue from diamond sales stood at $762.2 million, 49% higher than in 2009, as a result of the recovery in the rough diamond prices along with higher volumes sold. The company's net profit totalled $63.3 million, compared to a net loss of $63.1 million in 2009.



As for 2011’s outlook, Zaamwani-Kamwi said: “We remain cautiously optimistic about the diamond market generally. Continued positive growth is expected, albeit at a lower rate. The world is not back to where it was prior to the onset of the global economic crisis and risks to growth remain.



"In the longer term, the supply and demand dynamics of the diamond business remain attractive. Traditional consumer markets are recovering at the same time as demand growth in the emerging markets of China and India is expanding rapidly.”