London-listed Petra Diamonds has reported that its revenue for the fourth quarter of the 2026 financial year amounted to $38-million, marking a sharp decline from the $68-million in the third quarter of the financial year.

The company’s consolidated net debt increased to $322-million as at June 30 from $298-million on March 31 and the business rescue process announced in May at the Finsch mine, in South Africa's Northern Cape province, remains ongoing following the appointment of business rescue practitioners (BRPs) on June 10.

The BRPs have secured an extension to submit their recommended business plan for voting, which is now expected to happen during the first half of August. In the meantime, production remains suspended at Finsch.

Petra has also highlighted the launch of a Section 189A labour restructure at the company, while business and production improvement opportunities are under way at the Cullinan diamond mine in Gauteng to identify ways to optimise cash generation.

Given the company's constrained cash position, owing to weaker fourth-quarter tender prices and the ring-fencing of cash at the Finsch operation as part of the business rescue process, Petra has secured short-term working capital support from its senior lender.

The support includes the deferral of about $6-million in cash interest owing in July until January 2027, with the lender waiving any event of default that would otherwise arise from the delayed payment.

In addition, the lender has approved a R300-million facility under the company's existing general banking facility. The 18-month facility, which runs until January 2028, carries an interest margin of 750 basis points and will be repaid from the company's ongoing cash generation.

As part of the agreement, the senior lender will appoint a board observer in line with its existing financing rights, while the company will begin discussions on a refinancing by the second half of September, targeting agreement on non-binding commercial terms by the end of October.

Should the refinancing discussions not progress as planned, the lender will have the option to initiate a sales process and request the appointment of a chief restructuring officer and an independent restructuring committee to assess potential restructuring options.

Petra says it has already begun preliminary discussions with certain shareholders and noteholders and remains confident of reaching a consensual refinancing solution by the end of October.

Meanwhile, in April, Petra celebrated a significant milestone of nine consecutive fatality-free years, followed by nine-million fatality-free shifts in June.

The company notes that this trend is associated with its recent organisation restructuring programme, with about 57% of lost-time injuries attributed to behavioural factors.

Meanwhile, in the final days of the fourth quarter of the financial year under review, Petra experienced a ransomware incident affecting parts of its IT environment and the company’s management teams took immediate steps to protect its employees, safeguarding Petra’s operational technology environment and maintaining safe mining operations.

The company highlights that investigations and recovery work remain ongoing, with systems being restored only where the necessary security controls have been confirmed.

While the incident has affected certain administrative processes, including aspects of procurement and finance processing, Petra notes that its teams have implemented workarounds and continue to prioritise safe production, data protection and a disciplined restoration of business services.

“Against a backdrop of ongoing global geopolitical tensions, a structural change in the smaller-sized diamond price segment and the continued strength of the rand, the fourth quarter saw a shift in production and a reassessment of our business profile to mitigate the impact of these continued headwinds.

“We will continue our focus on ensuring the continued safe operating environment and delivering on our short-term targets,” Petra Diamonds CEO Vivek Gadodia says.