LUCARA Diamond Corporation, the Botswana-based firm, said it would pay a C$172m ($132m) special dividend to shareholders taking the total dividend paid in its current financial year to 46.5 Canadian cents/share (35.7 US cents/share).
“Lucara is rewarding its shareholders with a significant special dividend which is unprecedented in the industry and shows our commitment to rewarding our shareholders based on the company’s success in generating strong financial returns,” said William Lamb, CEO of Lucara, in an announcement last night.
Lucara, which is due to report its second quarter and interim results on August 4, discovered the Lesedi La Rona diamond (“Our Light”) at its Karowe mine in Botswana last year. The 1,111 carat gem is second in size only to the famous Cullinan diamond which was cut into the British Crown Jewels in the previous century.
Said Lamb: “The Karowe mine is a premier diamond deposit and continues to recover high quality stones, which is resulting in continued growth in the company’s cash balance”. Lucara reported cash of C$144.3m (Q1 2015: $87.5m) at the close of its first quarter results ended March 31.
“Following this dividend payment, we will continue to maintain a strong balance sheet and continue to seek value accretive opportunities, which includes advancing our exploration and drilling program to increase the company’s resources,” he said.
The company paid a 1.5 Canadian cents per share dividend quarterly dividend in terms of the firm’s progressive dividend policy.
Shares in the company ended trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange, where it is primarily listed, some 7.49% higher on Tuesday following its announcement. On a 12-month basis, shares in Lucara are 75% stronger.
Attempts to sell Lesedi La Rona in January this year were abandoned after bids for the diamond at a Sotheby’s public auction topped out at $61m, short of the undisclosed minimum reserve price. Sotheby’s had estimated the diamond would sell for more than $70m.
“The fact that the stone didn’t sell, yes, it is disappointing but it doesn’t change anything for Lucara as a company,” Lamb told Reuters at the time.
