Gemfields - Re: GEM Stream Log - Gemfields expects profits to fall...

Gemfields expects profits to fall by a fifth, reports drop in revenue at Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique 2:53 CAT | 18 Sep 20190 Comments Print Share Unnamed-2019-09-18T145115.960 Artisanal miners hunt for rubies as they sift through gravel next to a small dam near Gemfields’s ruby mine near Montepuez in Mozambique. [Picture: Getty Images / Mathew Hill] / Precious-stone producer Gemfields said on Wednesday it expects its interim profit for the year to end-June to fall 22%, reporting a drop in revenue at its Montepuez ruby mine (MRM) in Mozambique. Headline earnings per share is expected to fall 8% to 0.11c in rand terms, but remain unchanged at USD1c for the period, the company said. Gemfield’s two key operating assets are MRM and the Kagen emerald mine in Zambia, in which it holds 75% of each. MRM’s revenue was expected to fall 30.3% to $50m, while revenue at Kagen was expected to rise 58% to $33.2m. In January, British law firm Leigh Day said it had reached an $8.3m settlement with Gemfields over alleged human rights abuses at MRM. Gemfields denied liability but acknowledged violence had occurred at the mine, Leigh Day said, adding the company had taken the grievances of workers seriously. Revenue at its jewellery business, Fabergé, was expected to fall 45.7% to $3.8m, Gemfields said on Wednesday. The company’s share price had closed at R1.57 on Tuesday, having lost 12.78% so far in 2019. Source: Business Live