LONDON, July 3, 2026, 12:05 BST
- Gem Diamonds traded near 3.5p in London, with the market value under £5 million.
- Total voting rights stood at 140,004,845 as of a July 1 filing, so each 0.1p change in the share price shifts the value by about £140,000.
- Revenue for the first quarter came in at $32.1 million. The company sold four diamonds for over $1 million apiece, totaling $9.9 million.
Gem Diamonds Limited (LON:GEMD) was last changing hands at about 3.5 pence in London on Friday, valuing the Letšeng diamond producer at around £4.9 million based on LSE data and current voting shares. LSE figures showed a volume of 335,731 shares for roughly £12,000 in trades at that level.
This is the key market line. Gem’s market cap is sitting below what it got from just one Q1 diamond parcel. That lot, which had a 191.82-carat Type IIa white diamond in the mix, pulled in $7.0 million.
Sterling traded at $1.3357, according to Reuters on Friday, putting Gem’s equity around $6.5 million. A $1 million diamond is close to £749,000, or about 0.54p for each share.
| Measure | Latest figure | Market read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Share price used | 3.50p | Market cap sits near £4.9 million |
| Total voting rights | 140.0 million | Every 0.1p in the shares is c.£140,000 |
| Q1 total revenue | $32.1 million | Roughly 4.9x the equity value now |
| Extra 10-stone Q1 parcel | $7.0 million | This alone tops the whole equity value |
| Four $1m-plus stones in Q1 | $9.9 million | Almost 1.5x market cap |
| 2025 year-end net debt | $20.1 million | Net debt would be 3.1x current equity value |
First quarter results weren’t about volume. Carats sold in Export 1 dropped 21% from Q4, though the average price jumped 17% to $1,501 a carat. The company said most of the production came from the lower-grade Main Pipe, with less contribution from the higher-value Satellite Pipe.
| Letšeng metric | Q1 2026 | Q4 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ore tonnes processed | 1,326,732 | 1,366,152 | -3% |
| Satellite pipe tonnes | 239,632 | 332,167 | -28% |
| Carats recovered | 21,605 | 20,961 | +3% |
| Carats sold | 16,727 | 21,191 | -21% |
| Total value Export 1 | $25.1 mln | $27.3 mln | -8% |
| Average price per carat | $1,501/ct | $1,288/ct | +17% |
Big stones boosted the quarter. Gem said it recovered two diamonds over 100 carats, and the top price was $32,908 per carat for a 52.24-carat white diamond. Four diamonds over $1 million each brought in $9.9 million in revenue.
Balance sheet pressures mount. Gem posted 2025 revenue at $98.4 million, underlying EBITDA came in at $3.9 million, while net debt at year-end stood at $20.1 million. The company recorded an attributable loss after exceptional items of $104.0 million, mostly tied to a $77.5 million impairment at Letšeng. “The continued weakness in the diamond market required decisive action,” CEO Clifford Elphick said. Gem Diamonds
Gem’s July 1 RNS was a standard filing, nothing operational in it. The company said there are 141,525,015 ordinary shares out, with 1,520,170 in treasury. That puts total voting rights at 140,004,845.
Gem is still seeing its niche supported by the broader diamond trade, which skews toward higher-value stones while mass-market diamonds slip. Rapaport’s June 18 report pointed out that natural diamonds under 2 carats are losing share to lab-grown, so sales for bigger stones keep the natural side running. Gem has to use this narrower segment to cover a capital structure set up when rough diamond prices were weaker.
Tender selling has come under more scrutiny in the sector. Oded Mansori, co-founder and managing partner at HB Antwerp, told Reuters last year that tenders and auctions “resemble a casino” when demand is soft. Gem’s Q1 numbers highlight why that matters for shareholders—just a small move in the price of rare stones can overpower normal share turnover. Reuters
Governance shifted in June as Mike Brown took over as non-executive chair, replacing Harry Kenyon-Slaney after his nine years in the role. Brown has three decades in the diamond sector. Kenyon-Slaney said the transition struck “an appropriate balance between continuity, independence and effective governance.” Investegate
Gem said its revolving credit facilities run out in December 2026. Renewal talks were set to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
