Interim Results for 6 Months Ending 30 June 2020

RNS Number : 3626Z

Gemfields Group Limited

18 September 2020

 

Incorporated in Guernsey. Guernsey registration Number: 47656.

South African external company registration number 2009/012636/10

Share code on JSE:GML  / AIM:GEM

  ISIN: GG00BG0KTL52  |  LEI: 21380017GAVXTCYS5R31

("Gemfields" or the "Company")

Reviewed Interim Results for the Six Months Ending 30 June 2020

LONDON, 18 SEPTEMBER 2020

Gemfields hereby announces the Company's financial results for the six months ending 30 June 2020 ("2020 Interim Results"). The content of this short-form announcement is the responsibility of the board of directors of the Company.

Shareholders are advised that this short-form announcement represents a summary of the information contained in the full announcement and does not contain full or complete details of the financial results. 

Sean Gilbertson, CEO of Gemfields, commented:

"Our financial results in H1 2020 reflect the immense impact which Covid-19 and its associated travel, quarantine and other restrictions have had on Gemfields' operations and our ability to host gemstone auctions. We have been able to host only one auction thus far this year - the February 2020 auction of commercial quality emeralds in Lusaka, yielding USD 11.4 million. Our auctions originally scheduled for May, June and August 2020 have been cancelled.

We entered the pandemic with a strong balance sheet and have implemented measures to progressively reduce costs to the extent that the pandemic protracts, with monthly operating expenditure dropping significantly during the second quarter. Due to the ongoing levels of uncertainty, Gemfields is unable to provide reliable guidance as to when it might be able to next host auctions or generate meaningful revenue from gemstone sales. We continue to develop alternative gemstone selling mechanisms but these too are considerably hampered by widespread travel, quarantine and congregation restrictions. Work on an online auction platform is nearing completion, but this approach would still require in-person viewings of the gemstones by our clients, potentially via 'shuttle viewings' in different cities.  We also continue to seek alternative cash sources, including additional debt and a sale of our 6.5% indirect stake in Sedibelo Platinum."

Any investment decisions by investors and/or shareholders should be based on the consideration of the full announcement as a whole and shareholders are encouraged to review the full announcement which is available for viewing on the Company's website www.gemfieldsgroup.com and by following the below link: 

https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2020/jse/isse/GMLE/Interim20.pdf

The full announcement may also be requested at Gemfields' registered office, PO Box 186, Royal Chambers, St. Julian's Avenue, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4HP, at no charge, during office hours from Monday, 21 September 2020. Investors and/or shareholders may also request copies of the full announcement from the Company Secretary via [e-mail].

Financial and Operating Results:

	Six months ended 30 June 2020	Six months ended 30 June 2019	change
	USD'000	USD'000	%
Revenue	15,000	88,960	(83%)
Operating (Loss)/Profit	(62,491)	23,497	(366%)
Net (Loss)/Profit	(56,737)	12,443	(556%)
LPS/EPS1	(0.04)	0.01	(500%)
HLPS/HEPS1	(0.03)	0.01	(400%)
EBITDA2	(22,466)	33,144	(168%)

	30 June 2020	30 June 2019	change
	USD'000	USD'000	%
Net Asset Value (Parent only)	442,728	487,971	(9%)
Net Cash	9,281	35,468	(74%)

1 Earnings Per Share ("EPS") and Headline Earnings Per Share ("HEPS") disclosed to 2 d.p. in the table above.

2 Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation.  

The short-form announcement has itself not been audited. However, the financial information included herein has been extracted from the interim financial statements which have been reviewed by the Company's auditors, BDO LLP. The auditor's report on those financial statements was not qualified but included a material uncertainty over the going concern assumption and a reference to the Directors' disclosures on going concern.

-ENDS-

Further information on Gemfields Group Limited can be found at:

  GEMFIELDSGROUP.COM

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ENQUIRIES

GEMFIELDS	Sean Gilbertson / David Lovett / Mark Lawrie T:  [phone]
SPONSOR (JSE)	Investec Bank Limited
NOMINATED ADVISER (AIM) & JOINT BROKER	finnCap Christopher Raggett / Tim Redfern / Edward Whiley T: [phone]
JOINT BROKER	Liberum Clayton Bush / Scott Mathieson / Kane Collings M: [phone]
FINANCIAL PR/ IR	Camarco Gordon Poole / Jennifer Renwick / Nick Hennis T: [phone]

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON GEMFIELDS

Gemfields is a world-leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones. Gemfields is the operator and 75% owner of both the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia (believed to be the world's single largest producing emerald mine) and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world). In addition, Gemfields also holds controlling interests in various other gemstone mining and prospecting licenses in Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Madagascar.

Gemfields' outright ownership of Fabergé - an iconic and prestigious brand of exceptional heritage - enables Gemfields to optimise positioning, perception and consumer awareness of coloured gemstones, advancing the wider group's "mine and market" vision.

Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction and trading platform to provide a consistent supply of coloured gemstones to downstream markets, a key component of Gemfields' business model and has played an important role in the growth of the global coloured gemstone sector.

 

END

 

 

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