Just days after announcing it had entered production, Firestone Diamonds (FDI) was somewhat confusingly forced to comply with reporting rules and confirm that its project at Liqhobong was 85 per cent complete by the end of June. Still, with first diamond sales not due until January, full-year results for the Aim-traded group largely reflect the investment case in a company that expects to treat between 1.8 million and 2.0 million tonnes of ore in the financial year to June 2017.
Management is supremely confident in the Liqhobong site, which is situated in the same Lesothan mountain range as Gem Diamonds' (GEMD) Letseng project, the world's highest average dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine. If all goes to plan, results from the first sale should be reported in February.
Firestone is targeting recoveries of up to 450,000 carats by the end of FY2017. Broker FinnCap is currently projecting sales of $10.6m (£8.7m) for that period, which alongside existing debt facilities would leave the group sufficiently funded.
FinnCap is forecasting adjusted pre-tax losses of $4.7m and 1.1¢ for the June 2017 year-end.
FIRESTONE DIAMONDS (FDI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 56.3p | MARKET VALUE: | £177m | |
| TOUCH: | 55.5-57p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 58p | LOW: 16p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 44¢ | NET DEBT: | 29% | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 6.5 | -30.4 | -5.9 | nil |
| 2013* | 15.4 | -22.6 | -24.6 | nil |
| 2014 | 4.0 | -11.2 | -9.5 | nil |
| 2015 | nil | -10.4 | -3.3 | nil |
| 2016 | nil | -9.0 | 2.5 | nil |
| % change | - | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na £1 = $1.22 *Restated. | ||||
