Ruby and emerald miner Gemfields, which also owns Fabergé, has flagged a return to profit for its half-year ending June, having successfully gone online to sell its stones.
The group expects a profit after tax of $23.8m (R346m) to end-June, from a R959m loss previously, with the group hit hard in 2020 by travel restrictions, which disrupted viewing of the stones. That prompted the group to develop a system of online mini auctions, a format the group said had remained successful in 2021.
Gemfields, whose two key operating assets are Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique and the Kagen emerald mine in Zambia, is highly dependent on auction revenue.
The group reported a net loss of $56.7m (R959m) in its six months to end-June 2020, compared with a profit of $12.4m previously, with the group also writing down its jewellery business, Fabergé, by $11.5m. The group also wrote down its stake in unlisted Sedibelo Platinum Mines by $12.5m.
Gemfields said on Thursday it had written up Sedibelo after a review, by $7.7m to $37.3m.
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