Alrosa, which is based in the Sakha republic, mines 97 percent of diamonds in Russia.
In January of 2010, Alrosa’s sales receipts for diamond purchases were around USD 300 million, according to a top-manager of the company. The company’s marketing division is actively devising a program for diversifying the company’s geographical presence, focusing on dynamic emerging markets, such as India and China. The company is also transforming its foreign branch offices operating under the brand of ARKOS into direct distribution offices.
In 2009, the company sold USD 2.24 billion worth of rough diamonds. Revenue from the sale of refined diamonds was USD 2.19 billion. Diamond products brought in additional USD 3.3 billion. Alrosa’s net profit stood at USD 3.18 billion.
In the second half of the year, the company will issue bonds valued at RUR 44 billion. Depending on the market situation, Alrosa may decide to issue Eurobonds as well.
Alrosa took on a heavy debt load prior to the start of the economic downturn in order to finance the construction of deep mines. The company plans to build 3 deep mines, and the cost of each mine has been estimated at USD 1 billion. The company’s debt fell to USD 3.8 billion at the end of 2009. Refinancing tactics would allow Alrosa to decrease its debt balance by 10 percent in 2010. While the company’s debt mostly consists of short-term obligations, at the end of 2010, the company expects 77 percent of its debt to be long-term.