Petra Diamonds Limited (LSE:PDL, OTC:PDLMF) shares fell 16% after the immediate resignation of CEO Richard Duffy was announced.
The company said Juan Kemp, operations executive at Cullinan Mines, and Vivek Gadodia, chief restructuring officer, will step up as co-CEOs.
Kemp, who has been general manager at Cullinan Mine since 2011 and has been chief technical officer of the group, will handle operational matters, while Gadodia is to focus on corporate and restructuring responsibilities, having been at Petra since 2021 following nearly 15 years with Sasol in a wide range of engineering, project management and corporate positions.
Duffy, who joined Petra in 2019, said it had been "an honour and a privilege to serve Petra".
The financial results showed revenue was 30% lower year on year, which the company said was largely due to around US$50 million of additional revenue from tenders in 2023 being carried over.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 60% to US$15 million, which caused Petra not to meet the required leverage and interest cover covenant ratios in its bank credit facility as at 31 December 2024, though the company said it has obtained a waiver from lender Absa Bank.
"Petra continues to have sufficient liquidity headroom to meet the liquidity covenant requirements," it said.
Kemp and Gadodia said the results "reflect the successful implementation of the cost reduction plans and smoothed capital profiles outlined at our investor day last June, set against the prolonged period of weakness in the diamond market".
The pair said mining and processing costs from continuing operations have been "sustainably reduced" by 19% and capex by 32% from the first half of the year.
They said Petra continues to target net free cashflow generation from this year, with a multi-stream restructuring plan aimed at further reducing costs, optimising capital spend and generating additional revenue, while a labour restructure announced in December is expected to be completed by the end of March and a review of life-of-mine plans is underway.
"Thereafter, we intend to re-engage with our lenders on the back of the revised business plan, updated with our cost savings initiatives and updated life of mine plans."
House broker Peel Hunt said: "Despite the recent covenant waiver granted by Absa Bank for the bank facilities, we do not believe this leadership change indicates issues with the refinancing discussions or process.
"However, this development may overshadow the financial results for 1H25."