Gemfields shares drop as H1 profits sink

Shares in Gemfields tanked on Thursday morning after the gemstones miner and Fabergé owner said both revenues and profits in the first half were down sharply on last year.

The company said net profit after tax totalled $18.1m in the six months to 30 June, down from $56.7m a year earlier, with earnings per share falling to just 0.8 cents, from 3.7 cents.

Its two key operating assets, Kagem and MRM, saw sales declines to $64.6m and $80.4m, down from $85.2m and $95.6m, respectively.

"After the step-change in market pricing seen in 2022, the commercial-quality emerald and mixed-quality ruby auctions saw robust demand for coloured gemstones, alongside June's higher-quality emerald auction setting a new record for any Kagem auction," the company said.

Fabergé recorded revenues of $8.4m, down from $9.5m as a result of a "softer" luxury market.

Meanwhile, the company said a review of its shareholding in platinum miner Sedibelo Resources resulted in a fair value writedown of $13.3m to $18.7 million, due to lower public market valuations and the reduced operating and financial results for Sedibelo over the period.

Gemfields' stock was down 8.5% at 13.5p by 0909 BST.