Manufacturing Slowdown Hits Sarine Results

Sarine Technologies incurred a loss in the third quarter as difficult market conditions reduced sales of diamond-scanning machines.

Revenue fell 28% year on year to $10.4 million, the Israel-based producer of diamond technologies reported Sunday. Sales of capital equipment — machines that customers buy outright — dropped “significantly,” with the company not delivering any Galaxy inclusion-mapping systems during the quarter, management said.

As a result, the company recorded a loss of just under $1 million, compared with a profit of $2.2 million a year earlier.

“With the decline in the quantities of rough diamonds entering the pipeline, commensurately reduced manufacturing activities were evident,” Sarine said Monday. “Appropriately, our traditional businesses of selling capital equipment and, to a lesser extent, our inclusion-scanning services, were impaired.”

Sarine said it was “taking immediate steps to reduce operating expenses” in the fourth quarter as the slowdown in diamond manufacturing continued. The company also announced it intended to buy back up to 4 million shares in the business to boost its stock price.

Main image: The Sarine automated clarity-grading system. (Sarine Technologies)