In its announcement on its Full Year Results for the year ending 31 December 2015,  Gem Diamonds Limited  reported  a revenue of  US$ 249.5 million for the period, down 8% y-o-y.

The Company reported underlying EBITDA of US$103.5million for 2015, down 2% as compared to 2014;   profit for the year 2015 at US$67.4 million, marked an increase of  12% y-o-y.  Attributable profit (post exceptional items) stood at US$ 52.0 million, up 57% y-o-y; and earnings per share (pre exceptional items)  was 30.2 US cents, marking an increase of  26% y-o-y.

The Company’s Board recommended an ordinary dividend of 5 US cents per share and a special dividend of 3.5 US cents per share.

Commenting on the results Clifford Elphick, Chief Executive Officer of Gem Diamonds, said: "It is pleasing to see that the prices achieved for Letšeng's diamonds during 2015 have remained robust despite the sharp downturn in the global market. The world class, high quality diamonds, for which Letšeng is renowned, have contributed to the strong results at an average price of US$2 299 per carat for the year.”

Elphick noted that although 2015 was a challenging year for the diamond mining industry  the Group had delivered a strong set of operational and financial results. “The increase in the recoveries of the important +100 carat diamonds from an average of 6 per year to 11 in 2015 demonstrates the success of the initiatives,” he said.

Further, Elphick  commenting on Gem Diamonds’ diamond manufacturing efforts said in the financial report: “The Group continued to invest in its downstream activities by selecting certain high value rough diamonds for cutting and polishing, through its own facilities in Antwerp or partnering with select clients. During the year the Group achieved an average of 25% additional value over the initial rough price for the selected diamonds put through this process, supporting the objectives of this process.”