Gemfields’ strong financial performance continues in the H1 2023

LONDON – Gemfields has announces its financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2023 with the following highlights:

• Total revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2023 of USD 154 million.
• EBITDA for the six months ended 30 June 2023 of USD 73 million.
• Maintained a healthy EBITDA margin of 47.5%.
• Free cash flow before working capital movements for the six months ended 30 June 2023 of USD 25.2 million.
• Strong balance sheet with net cash balance at 30 June 2023 of USD 62 million, and USD 63.8 million of auction receivables now 97% collected

Sean Gilbertson, CEO of Gemfields, commented: “Gemfields’ strong financial performance has continued in the first six months of 2023. Our rough emeralds and rubies continue to be in demand after the step-change in market pricing seen across last year. Coloured gemstone prices continue to rise given their rarity, increasing global desirability and a market long bifurcated into two vastly different price brackets for natural and lab-grown gemstones. Gemfields is uniquely positioned to benefit from these trends and to further develop the coloured gemstone market.

Recent production at our Kagem emerald mine has been lower than we would have hoped, both in quality and quantity. This resulted in our decision to withdraw November’s higher-quality emerald auction from this year’s schedule and bring the available production to market in 2024. This is understandably disappointing, but such periods have been seen in the past and we always wish to ensure we have an optimal offering when we bring our gemstones to auction. Given the withdrawal of this auction, we are not presently positioned to match 2022’s standout financial performance in 2023.

We have started construction at our Montepuez ruby mine of the second processing plant, the single largest ever investment as a Group. The plant is expected to become operational during the first half of 2025 and will be a gamechanger in terms of our ability to process our sizeable stockpile, and to bring new ruby products to market and explore more of our licence area.

As we look to the rest of 2023 and into 2024, our unique business model and strategy continues to bear fruit with the hard work of our employees and the support of our customers and host countries in Mozambique and Zambia.”