Gem Diamonds achieved an underlying EBITDA of $19.1 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $8.4 million a year earlier and an attributable profit of $2.1 million from the previous year’s attributable loss of $ 1 million.
It said revenue for the group jumped 9% to $78 million compared to $71.8 million in the first half of 2023, resulting in an average price of $1 366 per carat from the previous year’s $1 373 per carat.
Although similar overall prices were achieved in H1 2023, an increase in both the number of larger than 100-carat diamonds and overall diamond recoveries helped offset the market impact on prices in the period.
"The pressure on the global diamond market persists, which negatively impacted the revenue generated during the period,” said company chief executive Clifford Elphick.
“We have, however, had great success in improving our operational outputs and cost containment, which mitigated the market impact on diamond prices.”
Meanwhile, Gem Diamonds recovered 55 873 carats from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho in the first half of 2024, compared to 50 601 carats a year earlier.
The increase in ore tonnes treated and volume of carats recovered during the period was mainly due to the operational decision to slow throughput in the processing plant that was implemented in the second half of 2023 and to focus on improving overall plant utilisation at a more stable and consistent rate.
This, it said, has resulted in improved plant stability, increased overall plant utilisation, and carats recovered, including a marked improvement in large diamond recoveries.
Gem Diamonds said the overall grade for the first half of 2024 was 2.20 cpht compared to the previous year’s 2.05 cpht, representing an increase of 7% despite a lower contribution of higher-grade satellite pipe material, which accounted for 44% of material treated during the period.
The full-year guidance on carats recovered and carats sold has been revised upward due to the improved operational performance.
The carats recovered have been revised to between 98 000 and 101 000 carats, while the carats sold have been revised to between 100 000 and 103 000 carats.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
