The financial year just ended was one of transition for Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI), which is now focused on the fully-funded Liqhobong mine development project.
The aim of the relatively new management team is to make Firestone a mid-tier diamond producer churning out more than one million carats a year by mid-2016.
Reviewing the performance in the year to 30 June, chairman Lucio Genovese said the company contained its losses and costs while successfully raising enough funding to take the Liqhobong mine development project through to completion.
Revenue in the year fell to US$3.9mln from US$15.4mln the year before.
The loss before tax halved to US$11.2mln from US$22.6mln the previous year when the results were distorted by US$3.8mln of impairment losses.
Depreciation and amortisation charges in the year to end-June 2014 were US$0.1mln, versus US$2.5mln the year before.
The company ended the reporting period with US$171.6mln in cash equivalents, up from US$4.1mln a year earlier.
Sale of the company’s South African assets is nearly complete, pending only local regulatory approval, while in August 2014 a formal disposal process commenced for Firestone’s Botswana assets.
The BK11 diamond mine in Botswana is currently in care and maintenance mode. Firestone expects to complete the sale of the mine in the first half of 2015.
Broker finnCap repeated a 'buy' stance and 84p price target saying the Liqhobong project had highly attractive economics under its analysis.
"With first production in 2016, the project should achieve payback early in 2018. Expected cash operating margins of almost 70% are unusually high, but of course have yet to be demonstrated."
Shares edged 0.34% higher at 36.375p.