Gemfields revenue reaches $106.0m as net debt falls to $44.2m
The reviewed accounts for the six months to 30 June carry figures September's trading statement did not. EBITDA was $40.7m against a $4.9m loss a year earlier, and net asset value fell to $248.3m.
By Carat Capital
What changed
The reviewed accounts landed. Gemfields published its reviewed interim report for the six months to 30 June 2026. Revenue was $106.0m. EBITDA was $40.7m, against a loss of $4.9m in the same half of 2025.
What it means
- If you buy Zambian emeralds: Kagem produced well; diesel and a stronger kwacha cut profit.
- If you hold the equity: Net debt is $17.0m lower, net asset value $73.5m lower, no dividend.
- What this is not: A ruby recovery. The Montepuez impairment is $125.2m and management calls it too early.
Key figures
| Revenue, six months to 30 June 2026up 65.12% on $64.2m a year earlier | $106.0m |
|---|---|
| EBITDA, from a $4.9m loss | $40.7m |
| Net debt at 30 June 2026 | $44.2m |
| Net asset value, from $321.8m | $248.3m |
Source: Gemfields Group Limited, Reviewed Interim Report for the six months to 30 June 2026, RNS via Investegate, 30 September 2026 · page read direct, 80,158 bytes
Revenue up, operations loss-making
Revenue rose sharply. Revenue for the half was $106,007,000 against $64,200,000 a year earlier. That is 65.12% above the prior half, on Carat Capital's division.
Operations lost more. Loss from operations widened to $100,668,000 from $21,255,000. The $125.2m non-cash impairment at Montepuez Ruby Mining is the stated driver.
EBITDA turned positive. EBITDA was $40,676,000 against a loss of $4,943,000, a swing of $45.6m. The measure excludes the impairment, by the report's own definition.
| Item | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $106,007k | $64,200k | Interim report |
| EBITDA | $40,676k | ($4,943)k | Interim report |
| Loss from operations | ($100,668)k | ($21,255)k | Interim report |
| Net loss | ($98,538)k | ($24,576)k | Interim report |
| Loss attributed to owners | ($73,497)k | ($20,468)k | Interim report |
| Loss per share | (4.3)c | (1.7)c | Interim report |
| Headline earnings per share | 0.6c | (1.5)c | Interim report |
| Net debt | ($44,237)k | ($61,216)k | Interim report |
| Net asset value | $248,263k | $321,762k | Interim report |
Notes on this table
Figures as published in Gemfields' own table, in USD thousands. The net asset value comparative is 31 December 2025, restated, not 30 June 2025; the report labels it so. Divisions are Carat Capital's: revenue 106,007/64,200 = 165.12% of the prior half, so 65.12% above it; net debt 44,237/61,216 = 72.26% of the prior figure, so 27.74% below it. In the rounded form used in the headline and key figures, those are revenue of $106.0m against $64.2m, net debt of $44.2m against $61.2m, and net asset value of $248.3m against $321.8m.
Net debt down, assets down more
Net debt fell. Net debt at 30 June was $44,237,000, or $44.2m, against $61,216,000 a year earlier. That is 27.74% below the prior figure.
Receivables sat outside. The report states the net debt figure comes before $33.3m of auction receivables, which it says have now been collected in full. Net of them the position is $10.9m.
Net assets shrank. Net asset value attributable to equity holders was $248,263,000, or $248.3m, against a restated $321,762,000 at 31 December 2025. The fall is $73.5m.
What the trading statement omitted
The statement carried less. Gemfields' 25 September trading statement gave the loss, the impairment and the per-share figures. It gave no revenue total, no EBITDA, no net debt and no net asset value.
Per-share figures held. Headline earnings were 0.6 US cents a share against a 1.5-cent loss, unchanged from the trading statement. Statutory loss per share was 4.3 cents.
The wording changed. David Lovett, interim CEO and CFO, calls it "a difficult period for Gemfields". The trading statement's own version of that sentence used the word challenging instead.
What to watch
- The full announcementWhether the full interim report, of which this is the JSE short-form summary, changes any figure above or adds the segment split.
- The next MRM auctionWhether premium ruby recoveries at Montepuez hold the improvement management describes as unproven.
- FY2026 results, expected March 2027Whether the half's positive EBITDA survives a full year that includes a second ruby auction.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
A second half. Every figure above closes on 30 June 2026, three months before it was published, and the report's own language on recent ruby recoveries at Montepuez is explicitly provisional. If the second processing plant holds the grade improvement, the $125.2m impairment is a floor rather than a trend. If it does not, a $44.2m net debt position with no dividend is the binding constraint. The full announcement, of which this page is the JSE short-form summary, would also carry the cash flow statement and the segment revenue split that the summary omits, and either could change the reading of the EBITDA swing.
Why EBITDA excludes an impairment
EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation, and Gemfields' own footnote goes further: its definition also excludes one-off non-cash impairments of non-current assets and inventory, fair-value movements on non-core equity investments, share-based payments, and other impairments and provisions. That is why the same half can show EBITDA of $40.7m and a loss from operations of $100.7m without either figure being wrong. The $125.2m written off against Montepuez Ruby Mining is a revaluation of an asset already on the books, not cash leaving the business, so it sits below the EBITDA line and above the operating line. The practical consequence for a reader is that the two numbers answer different questions. EBITDA says what the mines earned from selling gemstones this half. Loss from operations says what the half did to the carrying value of the company. A trade reader pricing emerald or ruby parcels cares about the first; a shareholder pricing the equity cares about the second, which is why this paper prints both and the division between them rather than one of them.
Method
One source was fetched and read as raw bytes: the Reviewed Interim Report 2026 RNS, Gemfields Group Limited, carried by Investegate, 200, 80,158 bytes, headed LONDON, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 in its own body. Every figure printed here was grepped in that saved file before the sentence was written, and the hit counts are: 106,007 one hit, 64,200 one, 40,676 one, 4,943 one, 100,668 one, 21,255 one, 98,538 one, 73,497 one, 44,237 one, 61,216 one, 248,263 one, 321,762 one, 125.2 two, 33.3 one, (4.3) one, (1.5) two. The Lovett quotation was read in that same file and is five words as printed. The $45.6m swing, the $17.0m and $73.5m changes, the $10.9m net-of-receivables figure and both percentage divisions are Carat Capital's arithmetic on the report's own numbers and are labelled as such wherever they appear. The comparison with the 25 September trading statement rests on this paper's own 29 September article and on the list of figures that document carried; no claim is made here about what any other outlet published. The archive was checked by opening every hit rather than counting: a case-insensitive search of the built site for Gemfields returns sixteen files, all opened, of which twelve are articles. The nearest is 2026-09-29, which covers the H1 2026 TRADING STATEMENT of 25 September; this item is the REVIEWED INTERIM REPORT for the same half, published 30 September, and it carries revenue, EBITDA, net debt and net asset value, none of which the trading statement stated. Same entity, same reporting period, different document and different headline figures, so the verdict is ADVANCED, not repeat.