Since 2018, Debmarine Namibia has directly contributed N$13.8 billion to Namibia's national treasury.
This was revealed by the Chief Executive Officer of Debmarine Namibia at a stakeholder engagement breakfast in Windhoek.
Willy Mertens also revealed that in 2022, the company will have made a total contribution of N$4.7 billion.
Debmarine's overall economic and societal contribution for last year stood at N$10.2 billion, which went into employment, local procurement, and social investment, among others.
It also paid the government a total dividend of N$4.7 billion as a shareholder.
"What we have now is our normal fleet to keep the business. Free cash flow after providing capital expenditure increased to N$3.6 billion, enabling the payment of a dividend of N$3.1 billion to our shareholders. We paid no dividends in 2020 and 2021 due to the investment in the Benguela Gem, and I would like to thank our shareholders, in particular the ministers of Mines and Energy and of Finance and Public Enterprises, as well as the Governor of the Bank of Namibia, for their understanding during the dividend drought period."
He says in 2022, the 1.725 million carats of diamonds were a record production in the short history of the company, constituting around 80% of the total diamond production in Namibia.
Mertens also added that their capital expenditure decreased to N$540 million, which he largely attributed to the finalization of the Benguela Gem Project.
In its first year, the Benguela Gem project is said to have contributed N$2.4 billion.
"Our biggest highlights for 2022 were undoubtedly the delivery of the Benguela Gem two months ahead of schedule and 6% (N$1.1bn) below budget. The Benguela Gem recovered 480,000 carats of diamonds in 2022 (compared to a budget of 281,000). The Benguela Gem contributed 28% of our 2022 output, trailing only the Mafuta, which contributed 36% (613,000 carats)."
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, noted that there is a need to create an environment where Namibians can have local ownership of investment in the mining sector.
"I congratulate Debmarine on this achievement. Debmarine, as we understand it, is a 50/50 shareholder with the state, and this is just one example of how local ownership can be engineered in such a way that we all feel a part of it, and for us, we will continue to do what we can to ensure your success as our partner."
The consumer demand for diamond jewelry for 2022 performed quite well, as the company benefited by about N$1 billion from the improvement in the diamond market and N$1.4 billion from the weakening of the Namibia dollar against the US dollar.
The United States and China continue to be the two largest markets for Namibian diamonds.