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Stringent cash conservation at Debswana continues despite improvement

Production at Debswana - the joint venture between the Government of Botswana and De Beers - is forecast to decline by 50% in 2009, which will result in a 50% decline in revenues, Group Finance Manager, Mr Tabake Kobedi said.

"This expected drop in revenues necessitates the continuation of the stringent cash conservation techniques put in place over the past year which saved the company P300 million (around US$46 million)," Kobedi said.

He said the company was now focussing on operational efficiency.

Earlier in the week, Debswana's MD Blackie Marole announced that while global demand for diamonds has started to show signs of improving, that the company will continue to monitor the situation and increase production in line with demand.

Mr Marole reportedly said it is too soon to tell whether confidence has returned to the key US market, forecasting that the company will not see a full recovery until the end of 2010.