Gemfields Group (JSE:GML) Q2 2026 Earnings Call

0:01 Good morning and welcome to Genfield's 2026 Interim Results Shareholder and Investor Webcast. David Lovett, Interim CEO and CFO, and Becky Tate, Head of Finance, will present Genfield's financial results. At the end of the presentation, we will go into Q&A. If you'd like to ask a question, please write it via the webcast page by clicking the Ask a Question button. Before we start, please take note of the important information in our disclaimer on slide 2. And with that, I'm going to pass you on to David.

0:32 Thank you, Heinrich, and good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us for Genfield's interim results for the six months ended 30th of June, 2026. I'm David Lovett, Genfield's interim CEO and CFO, and I'm joined by Becky Tate, our head of finance, who has been with Genfield for five years and brings a strong understanding of our financial reporting and Zambian operations. We'll take you through the key developments from the first half of the year and then open the call for questions. It's fair to say that the first half was difficult and the reported loss is clearly disappointing, principally due to the challenges at MRM. Premium review recoveries remained below expectations and the operating environment remained testing.

1:20 Those factors are reflected in the MRM impairments, which Becky will cover shortly. There are, however... reasons for measured optimism. PP2 is now largely operational and has shown that it can run at, and at times above, the 400 tonnes per hour target. Ruby recoveries have also improved recently. Our CADGEM production was strong, supported by good premium emerald recoveries and a positive higher quality emerald auction. Looking forward, our priorities are clear. We need to stabilize operations at MRM, sustain CADGEM's strong performance, reserve cash, and rebuild balance sheet resilience. That means staying focused on safe operations, reliable production, tight cost control, and disciplined capital allocation.

2:13 With that, I'll hand you over to Becky to take you through the first half numbers.

2:18 Thanks, David, and good morning, everyone. So starting on slide five, As David has just set out, the first half of 2026 has continued to be challenging for the Group. However, these challenges are not fully reflected in the headline figures shown on this slide, primarily due to the deferral of the December 2025 Ruby auction to February 2026, which meant MRM had two auctions in the first half where traditionally it has just had one. As shown on the slide, The group generated $106 million of revenue in the period, of which 50%, or $53 million, was contributed by the February 2026 auction held by MRM.

3:04 MRM also conducted its first Trade Select auction in June 2026, which provided an additional $23 million to MRM's total revenue for the first half. Its newly introduced Trade Select auctions are aimed at offering a broader mix of Ruby qualities as well as the newly introduced Sapphire categories to the market. Hadgen contributed just under $27 million to revenues in the first half from one higher quality auction held in May. Overall, auction results for the first half of 2026 were promising and showed the continued strong underlying demand for high quality coloured gemstones. Then on the right of the slide, either dark, EBITDA showed positive movements in the first half with $40.7 million achieved in the period. This good performance reflects the strong auction results in the year to date.

3:57 Moving on to slide 6 Adjusted earnings per share saw a gain of 0.6 cents per share when taking into account depreciation, interest costs and taxes but excluding the non-cash impairment charge against MRM which we will come back to later. Turning to cash the first half saw a $17.4 million free cash inflow, again, primarily due to the auction timings in the first half of the year. Moving to net debt on slide 7. The graph on the slide shows the evolution of Genfield's net cash or debt position going back to 2010. The grey line depicts net cash or debt, with the yellow line depicting net cash or debt with the auction receivables balance included.

4:47 What can clearly be seen here is the cyclical nature of our business. As shown on the far left, we remain in a net debt position at the 30th of June, closing the period with net debt of $44 million, which is more or less in line with where we were at the end of 2025. Taking auction receivables into consideration, improves the net debt to $10.6 million, our lowest position since June 2024. Although we still have some way to go to get back to a net cash position, we have made some encouraging progress during the first half of 2026. Looking forward to December, we've already secured revenues of almost $30 million from the September Commercial Quality Emerald Auction, with a high-quality Emerald Auction and two Ruby Auctions still to come before the end of the year.

5:38 We remain optimistic, therefore, that this positive trajectory will continue as we progress towards year-end. Next to slide 8, which shows OPEX across the key segments in the period. For Cajun, on the top left of the slide, mining production costs were up compared to the second half of 2025, reflecting the inflationary pressures of diesel prices in the period in line with global trends. and the dual impact of the implementation of the Currency Directives introduced in Zambia combined with an appreciating quater which has put upward pressure on Kajum's cost base. As a reminder for Kajum, we had paused mining in the first half of 2025, therefore the OPEX presented for that comparative period is artificially low.

6:29 Cost increases at MRM also reflects the increase in diesel prices alongside the increase in the period in mining and processing activity as PP2, MRM's second processing plant, has ramped up towards its full operating capacity. We have made good progress on stabilising PP2 over the last few months, which David will be expanding on in his operational review shortly. The relevant project costs in the chart in the top right have remained low as we continue winding down activities at the site, whilst corporate costs remain in line in the second half of 2025. Cost control will remain a key focus as we move through the second half of 2026. Moving to a quick look at cash flow expenditure on slide 9.

7:14 These graphs show capex at CAGRM on the left and at MRM on the right. CAGRM has seen very little capex in 2026 to date. However, this was largely due to the implementation of Statutory Instrument 68 in Zambia from the start of the year, which has meant expenditures delayed whilst the team ensured vendors were compliant with the new legislation. A catch-up is therefore expected across the second half of the year, and we expect CADM to end the year in line with 2025's total spend. MRM's significant investment in its new plant can clearly be seen in the graph on the right. However, capital spend is now tapering as the project nears completion. The final payment of circa $4 million to ConsulNet is expected to be made by the end of the year, with all non-critical spend paused as we navigate the current operational challenges.

8:09 Which brings me finally onto MRM and the non-cut impairment of $125.2 million made in the period on slide 10. As we have previously announced to the market, MRM has continued to experience a number of operational challenges during 2026, which include one of the wettest rainy seasons recorded since we began operations, which limited access to certain production areas and forced mining to be concentrated in lower-grade areas, a commissioning and ramp-up period for PP2 proving more challenging and prolonged than initially anticipated, and the continued low recoveries of premium rubies, which have been significantly below operational targets.

8:59 The combination of these factors has meant that, overall, premium ruby production for the period was a shortfall of 13% against the first half of 2025, despite a 133% increase in the ore produced over the same period. The decline in premium grade that has been observed causes us to reassess the key judgments used in MRM's life of mine model, and As a result, we have adopted more conservative grade assumptions that place greater weight on recent operational results, future mine scheduling plans and bulk sampling data. This downward revision in forecast grades in the Life of Mine model, particularly in premium ruby recoveries, was the main contributing factor to the $125.2 million impairment recorded as at 30 June 2026.

9:50 Following the impairment recorded, the carrying value of MRM was written down to $80.3 million. In addition to the current period impairment, we have also restated the impairment recorded in the 2025 annual report by $30 million, increasing the impairment charge that was recognised as at 31 December 2025 from $35 million to $65 million. The restatement arose following the identification of some inconsistencies while reviewing the 30 June 2026 Life of Mind model that were also found to exist in the 31 December 2025 model upon review. All errors identified have been corrected with the Life of Mind model that supports the 30 June impairment review.

10:36 I will now hand you back across to David, who will take you through the operational review and provide more detail on recent progress at MRN.

10:44 Thank you, Becky. So let's have a look at gemstone production at both mines, starting with the premium categories. These charts show cumulative carrots by month against the previous four years. Starting with emeralds on the left-hand side, Cajun's premium emerald production to August was approximately 125,000 carrots, ahead of the comparable points in most prior years. As we've said, from a production On the right-hand side at MRM, premium ruby production to August was approximately 46,000 carats, broadly in line with the prior year trajectory. However, with the additional processing capacity from PP2, we should be comfortably ahead of the comparative periods.

11:37 July, August and September have been healthier months, which is encouraging. One point on comparability before we move on. The secondary sapphires have been removed from premium ruby, and prior periods have not been restated, so the underlying comparison is tighter than the chart suggests. Moving one step down the quality pyramid, this slide covers the higher volume categories. We define these as emerald from Kajem and tumbled ruby from MRM. On the left-hand side, Kagem produced approximately 7.8 million carats of emeralds to August, ahead of the equivalent point in every prior year shown. Again, production at Kagem is in a good place. On the right-hand side at MRM, Tumbled Ruby production was approximately 268,000 carats, within the range seen in prior years.

12:31 That brings me to our priorities for the rest of 2026. We've split these out into three key areas. The first one being operational stability. That means reliable production and consistent supply. Greater production predictability will support the auction calendar and reduce uncertainties around grade, throughput and unit costs. Number two, financial discipline. Fight cost control and selective capital spend. We are prioritising spends, not simply cutting it. That means funding what protects production and deferring what can wait. And finally on this slide, balance sheet resilience. We need to increase our headroom, which will in turn give us greater control over the timing of our auctions and our capital allocation decisions.

13:23 The next few slides show what that means in practice, first at the assets and then for the group. At MRM, The focus is on bulk sampling, directing production towards proven grade areas, planning for seasonal pit constraints and stabilising PP2 through improved availability and utilisation. We are also deferring non-essential capital expenditure. At CAGEM, the priorities are forward mine planning, maintaining multiple productive mining areas and keeping tight control of operating and capital costs. VAT recovery also remains important for cash flow at both operations. Looking at PP2 in more detail, we have a couple of slides looking at performance.

14:15 The plant generally ran below target in the first part of the year. So the green line here is the target 400 tonnes per hour. The red bars are the daily performance of the plant. In the first half of the year, it typically ran between 300 and 390 tonnes per hour, with considerable day-to-day volatility. Since mid-June, performance has improved materially, with the plant running more consistently between 410 and 450 tonnes per hour, which is clearly above the 400 tonne per hour target. The second graph looking at PP2 shows an increase in ore process across both plants, so this includes PP1. Total throughput has approximately tripled from around 100,000 tonnes to around 300,000 tonnes.

15:10 As expected, the total carrot production has approximately doubled. This is total production rather than premium production, but it illustrates the opportunity we have with the new plant. If we can stabilise grade, the additional throughput should translate into materially higher recoveries. It's worth noting that the plant is not yet fully commissioned. A replacement secondary scrubber is in transit and several other material adjustments must be completed before final commissioning. We expect to complete this work during Q4 this year. If we finish with the outlook, we split this into three parts. First, the auctions. We have three more auctions planned for 2026.

15:57 and we expect them to be broadly consistent with recent trends. At the mines, at MRM, PP2 and the wide operational improvements should support greater stability and reduced production volatility. And at CADGEM, forward mine planning is supporting more stable emerald production. Better planning at both mines gives us greater visibility on grade and feed, which should support a more consistent supply to auction. And in terms of our priorities to repeat, they remain operational stability, financial discipline through cost control, and balance sheet resilience. In short, we are focusing on operational stability at both assets while keeping a firm grip on costs and cash flow.

16:48 Thank you, David. As a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, please write it in via the webcast ask a question function. The first question received is as follows. With regards to the impairment of PP2, what is the dollar impact of this and what was the basis for the calculation?

17:17 was initially allocated to the fair value mining assets held at the group level that had arisen on the acquisition of Dunfields Limited by the group in July 2017. The remaining fair value of this asset was £55 million at the 30th of June 2026 and we've now written it down to nil balance. The remaining impairment charge of £70.5 million was then allocated against the property plans and equipment held by the MRM-CGU on a pro-rata basis that included PP2, as is prescribed under the International Financial Reporting Standards. Thank you, Vicky. Next question is, how have Maglotto versus Meningi nice grades performed?

18:03 So they are our two types or areas of production. They do follow slightly different characteristics. On the McGlosso side, which is the higher quality ruby that we have mined for many years, we are stabilising broadly a range of 0.025 premium carats per tonne. Meningenite does generally run at a higher rate, and that's currently sitting at around 0.04 carats. premium carrots per tonne, but it's worth noting that in general prices achieved for the Meningi Nice product is around 20% lower on a per carrot basis than McLotto. Thank you, David. Understood. The next question is, why are you still allocating the old version of estimating Meningi Nice premium?

18:52 There was a previous discussion about normalising Meningi Nice to McLotto.

18:56 So, in summary, we are no longer using the previous approach without adjustment. Following a review of the Meningenite classification, secondary sapphires have been excluded from the premium ruby characterization in that product. This does provide a more conservative and representative measure of current output. Just worth noting we have not restated historical data because there is quite frankly not sufficient detail to recalculate those categories reliably. Thank you David. Next question. What cost and capex containment measures are going to be put or have been put in place at MRM in response to the margin pressures?

19:41 So we are looking in detail at both operating costs and capex at MRM on an ongoing basis and clearly there is a focus on preserving cash. The majority of capex currently relates to critical near-term projects, particularly PP2. If market conditions continue and performance continues in a more positive manner, we will assess opportunities to defer, reduce or reprioritise discretionary spend where appropriate. Thank you, David. Next question. What is the annualised PP2 operating rate at the moment or in the recent three months?

20:22 So BP2 is running consistently above 400 TPH at present, which is where we expect it to sit in the long term. Together with PP1, this equates to an annualised processing rate of approximately 3 to 3.2 million tonnes. Thank you, David. Next question. For how long can you process 3.6 million tonnes per annum, are they, Maureen, with the current and imported fleet?

20:49 how long we can maintain that really does depend on the rate at which the existing stockpiles are depleted based on current planning that may well it's going to reduce materially before the end of 2026 and at that point fresh ore does need to be mined to feed the plant we are looking at and a range of options to ensure sufficient ore feed and mining capacity including the potential use of contract mining. No decisions have been taken but it is likely that additional investment in mining fleet and other yellow goods will be required to support the higher processing rate as we move forward. Thank you David. Moving on to that, could we have an update on that please?

21:38 Yes, so taking Cajun first. At Cajun, we've seen good progress during the year to date with refunds received from the ZRA in eight of the nine months of 2026 so far, which total around $5.4 million, which is almost double what our BAT requests have been for the year. At MRM, however, progress has been slower, but we did receive a cash refund of $0.9 million earlier post-period end in August 2026 from the MRA. This is the first refund we've had since October 2024. So whilst we remain cautiously positive about this progress, we continue to engage the MRA and Ministry of Finance on this matter with a current plan for senior management to meet with the Minister in Mozambique before the end of the year.

22:31 Thank you, Becky. Returning to MRM, Can you expand on the MRM performance and the operational changes that have been made? How should we consider these changes in the short to medium term?

22:43 Sure, so we've seen in some of the graphs that MRM's recent performance has improved from a processing stability point of view and we have implemented a more systematic approach to mine management over the last few months. In the short term, the focus is on stabilising PP2 further improving mine planning and directing our production towards areas with better understood grades. In parallel with that, looking at the more medium to long-term view, we are looking to expand our bulk sampling significantly, and we're using a different way of looking at the geological analysis to build a data set to improve our understanding of grade distributions and ruby recoveries.

23:28 These changes won't remove the geological variability, but certainly we hope that over the medium to long term they improve the predictability, reduce the volatility we've seen, and support more consistent production and therefore auction management. Thank you, David. Understood. Returning to VAT, VAT receivables keep growing. What realistically can management do about this?

23:56 So that is true. VAT refugals will keep growing. Most of our supplies in both countries attract VAT, and recent legislation in Mozambique has meant that has actually increased. So local supplies now charge VAT, whereas we were exempt for the last few years. In terms of what management can do, we continue to engage with the government. We continue to engage with the local and national tax authorities. We have made various applications and presentations and we have recently had some relatively positive news which is a large chunk of our VAT receivable balance has now been approved by the VAT authority in Mozambique. So we are making small steps forward.

24:43 As Becky said, we have had one cash refund. We hope to have at least a couple more before the year end. But quite frankly, all we can do is keep on banging the drum and and push government to help us out where it can. But it's fair to say that Mozambique's cash position is tricky, so expectations should be tempered in terms of getting back the bulk of that recovery. Thank you, David. Cash at the center is now only $34 million. What level is the minimum given the covenants?

25:19 So we use a minimum cash requirement in our going concern assessment and our cash forecasts of $5 billion. Thank you, Becky. Understood. When will you make a decision on contract mining?

25:31 So we are currently in the budget process for the Gemfields Group. Contract mining will be a key part or a key decision that relates to MRM going into 2027 and beyond. And therefore, by the end of this year, we will have made a theoretical decision, although it's unlikely we'll have instructed any contractor at that point. Thank you. Understood. Is MRM in a position to pay the management and auction fees yet?

25:58 In short, no. What is the forecast grade you refer to that is needed to escape the material uncertainty issue?

26:12 So this is an accounting or an audit type question. There is no hard grade or target to get out of the material uncertainty and the material uncertainty is also linked to our overdraft facilities and banking facilities in Mozambique. If we could get the grade up above 0.03, that would certainly be a much more positive financial model, which would help in terms of our outgoing concern. Thank you, David. Do you expect MRM to be in a position to pay the debt repayment installments next term, or will you have to renegotiate?

26:50 So we do expect MRM to be able to pay the debt. We are speaking to the banks. at a group level as well as at a local level to see if there are interesting ways of refinancing our current debt position. But those conversations are very early stage. So we will continue along those routes and if anything interesting comes, we'll report that to the market. Thank you, David. What has and will management do to secure MRM's future with regards to capex and ongoing costs?

27:20 So really, MRM needs to hold its own, clearly. and the OPEX, I think there is room to improve that or bring it down. On the CAPEX side, there are certainly options to push things out and delay, and things like contract and mining do have a direct impact on your future CAPEX, but quite frankly, it's a production issue rather than a spending issue. We need the production to improve, we need to bring more stability, we need to see the deposit in a slightly different way, and then we can really push forward with proper mind planning, proper cost control and capex plans. Thank you, David. Our next question is a two-part question. First, how is the Nairoto sale process going? And next, what was the reason for the previous CEO's departure?

28:11 Okay, in terms of Nairoto, that sale process continues. It's fair to say there are no concrete sale options available to us, although there are a number of interested parties, and we will continue pushing that. In terms of Sean's departure, that was a mutual decision between Sean and the board, and I can't really add much more detail than that. Thank you, Dylan. Next question. What efforts are being made to combat illegal mining at MRM?

28:45 This is one of the major challenges we have alongside production in Mozambique. There is no doubt that the illegal mining activity on our license has increased, which is a problem. The way we deal with that is currently we look to the government through the police and through the army to help protect the assets and also protect the people because these illegal miners often get injured themselves. it's a very tricky situation it does require many different parties to be involved we have been working with the government for years on the matter and we are looking at sort of outside the box thinking on different ways we can potentially manage this going forward but there are no easy solutions to the problem this is an ongoing issue and we'll continue to do what we can to protect our people protect our assets and bring the best returns to Mozambique that we can.

29:49 Thank you, David. On a similar theme, can you comment on political risk scenario in Cabo Delgado?

29:56 I don't think that Cabo Delgado has a specific political risk outside of Mozambique as a country. It is a difficult place to operate and it has been for a long time. We do have reasonably good relationships with the government and we do see intent to try and improve things there so we are looking at it from both a national and a local level but again it's a long term project for us to try and improve the way we interact with the political side in Mozambique Thank you David Returning back to MRM, when do you expect to update the mineral resource system at slash mine of life at MRM and what potential do you see there?

30:43 So we expect to update that next year. Work is being done by SRK who have done the reports over the last few years. And quite frankly, we need the bulk sampling results to come in before March. we can really push that forward. So we do expect that to happen relatively soon. We don't have a hard date in mind at this point, but I would hope in 2027 we're able to update that resource statement along with some more significant bulk sampling work. Thank you, David. Next question. Can you comment on world market volume changes for rubies and emeralds? Who are your main competitors?

31:24 So on the emerald side, We have a competitor in Zambia itself, one of our neighbours, who does sell in a similar pattern to us. They buy at auction and they do seem to produce similar volumes of emeralds to we have. They do seem to be slowing down a little bit compared to where they were in 2025. You also have emeralds coming out of Brazil, coming out of Colombia. and the auction market has certainly seen a significant uptick in activity over the last few years. On the Ruby side, we don't see the same level of competition. There are no big players coming out of Mozambique at present.

32:10 We do have a couple of neighbouring assets which have been in and out of production over the last few years. But certainly on the Ruby side, MRM is still by far the biggest player and other parts of the world don't seem to be producing rubies in any significant volume at this point. Thank you, David. Understood. And with that, we have no further questions. We'd like to thank you all for joining us this morning. If you have any further questions or would like to speak one-to-one, please reach out to us at the irfgenfield.com email address and enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you. We will close the call now.