Sarine Anticipates Return to Profitability

RAPAPORT… Sarine Technologies expects to register a “nominal” net
profit for the third quarter, as sales of mapping machines for small diamonds increased
amid a lessening of the midstream inventory crisis.



The manufacturer of equipment for the diamond trade
forecast revenue of $14 million, representing 20% growth versus the $11.7
million sales it reported for the same period a year ago. While total sales of
its inclusion-mapping technology remained subdued because of a decline in
polishing activity, demand for its Meteor and Meteorite systems for small
stones improved, the company explained in a recent trading update.



“Back in the beginning of the year we told people we
thought we’d be selling 90 such systems this year,” Sarine chairman Daniel
Glinert told Rapaport News Thursday. But sales figures “are simply going
in a direction where we did not expect them to be so soon,” he said. Glinert
also noted a “beginning of the easing of the inventory issue” that has hurt the
manufacturing sector this year.



Lower rough supply from miners such as De Beers has
helped reduce stockpiles and improve liquidity in the midstream, the company
added. Customers are increasingly buying mapping equipment outright rather than
paying according to usage, Glinert added. That has lifted Sarine’s gross
margin, contributing to a likely return to profitability following two quarters
of losses, he said. However, other negative market conditions prevailed, the Israel-based company cautioned.



“The ongoing trade
disputes between the US and China continued to impair demand in the Chinese
market by an estimated 10%,” it said, adding that “the issue of lab-grown
diamonds continued to be a distraction.”


Image: Sarine Technologies headquarters in Hod HaSharon, Israel. (Sarine Technologies)