Gemfields Grou. Regulatory News (GEM)

GEMFIELDS GROUP LIMITED

(Incorporated in Guernsey)

(Guernsey registration Number: 47656)

(South African external company registration number 2009/012636/10)

Share code on JSE:GML / AIM:GEM / BSX:GML.BH

ISIN: GG00BG0KTL52 LEI: 21380017GAVXTCYS5R31

("Gemfields" or the "Company")

6 April 2020

Audited Annual Results for the year ended 31 December 2019

Gemfields is pleased to report the Company's audited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2019 ("2019 Results"). The content of this short form announcement is the responsibility of the board of directors of the Company.

Shareholders are advised that this short form announcement represents a summary of the information contained in the full announcement and does not contain full or complete details of the financial results.

Sean Gilbertson, CEO of Gemfields, commented:

"We are pleased to report a strong set of results for the 2019 financial year, with the team delivering record group revenues and a healthy growth in operating profit. The successful listing on the AIM division of the London Stock Exchange took place in February 2020, a development which we believe will benefit the Company by providing, over time, greater share trading liquidity and easier access to the precious coloured gemstones sector for a wider audience of international investors.

While there were many positives during 2019, the new year has already presented notable challenges including an increase in trespassing artisanal miners at our Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique and the turmoil triggered by COVID-19. I would like to thank all of our employees, communities and stakeholders for the vigilance that they have shown in managing these challenges and to reassure them of our ongoing efforts to safeguard their welfare.

While 2019 was a particularly good year for Gemfields, the fallout from COVID-19 will have a material adverse impact on our operating and financial performance in 2020. Widespread travel and freedom-of-movement restrictions mean that our gemstone auctions, which provided approximately 93% of our revenues in 2019, are on hold for an unknown period of time. Fortunately, our robust financial position and the historic resilience of coloured gemstones during times of market volatility puts us on a sound footing to face the challenges the remainder of 2020 will bring."

Highlights:

· Record Group revenues of USD216.2 million (2018: USD206.1 million)

· Free Cash Flow1 increased by 16% to USD31.1 million (2018: USD26.9 million)

· EBITDA of USD80.9 million (2018: USD58.9 million)

· Repurchase of 143 million shares, approximately 10% of the total shares in issue, at an average price of ZAR1.50 per share

· Commissioned an industry-leading sort house at the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique

· Extension of the Kagem emerald mining licence for a further 25 years until April 2045

· Suspension of the 15% export duty for precious coloured gemstones in Zambia, effective from 1 January 2020

· Joint venture agreement signed for gold exploration in Mozambique

· Group generated a total of USD30.4 million from the sale of its entire stake in Jupiter Mines Ltd

1 Free Cash Flow is calculated as cashflow from operating activities less capital expenditure and tax paid. Free Cash Flow is calculated pre working

capital movements.

Any investment decisions by investors and/or shareholders should be based on the consideration of the full announcement as a whole and shareholders are encouraged to review the full announcement. The 2019 Results containing the audit opinion, including key audit matters, is available for viewing on the Company's website www.gemfieldsgroup.com.

Please follow the link to the full results: https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2020/jse/isse/GMLE/AR19.pdf

The 2019 Results, including the audit opinion, may also be requested at Gemfields' registered office, PO Box 186, Royal Chambers, St. Julian's Avenue, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4HP, at no charge, during office hours from Monday, 6 April 2020. Investors and/or shareholders may also request copies of the full announcement from the Company Secretary via investor.relations@gemfields.com.

Financial and Operating Results:

1 Earnings Per Share ("EPS") and Headline Earnings Per Share ("HEPS") disclosed to 2 d.p. in the table above, % change based on actual number.

2 Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation.

The short form announcement has itself not been audited, however, the financial information included herein has been extracted from the audited annual financial statements which have been audited by the Company's auditors, BDO LLP; the auditor's report on those financial statements was not qualified but included a material uncertainty over the going concern assumption and a reference to the Directors' disclosures on going concern.

Gemfields has not declared a final dividend. 

Shareholder and analyst conference call

There will be a shareholder and analyst conference call on Tuesday, 7 April 2020 at 08.30 am (UK) / 09.30 am (South African). Sean Gilbertson and David Lovett will present the Company's 2019 Results and future prospects of the business.

Please click on the link below to register for the call:

www.diamondpass.net/1766187

Further information on Gemfields Group Limited can be found at www.gemfieldsgroup.com

To join our press release mailing list, click here: gemfields@gemfields.com 

For any press enquiries please contact us on gemfields@camarco.co.uk 

Enquiries:

Additional information on Gemfields

Gemfields is a world-leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones. Gemfields is the operator and 75% owner of both the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia (believed to be the world's single largest producing emerald mine) and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world). In addition, Gemfields also holds controlling interests in various other gemstone mining and prospecting licenses in Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Madagascar.

Gemfields' outright ownership of Fabergé - an iconic and prestigious brand of exceptional heritage - enables Gemfields to optimise positioning, perception and consumer awareness of coloured gemstones, advancing the wider group's "mine and market" vision.

Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction and trading platform to provide a consistent supply of coloured gemstones to downstream markets, a key component of Gemfields' business model and has played an important role in the growth of the global coloured gemstone sector.