Sales Rise at India's Asian Star

RAPAPORT... Sales and profit grew at Indiandiamond manufacturer Asian Star in the second fiscal quarter amid improvedjewelry exports and a strong performance at its Dubai trading unit.The Mumbai-based group saw strong margins in its jewelry division, especially the export business, Pranav Kapadia, Asian Star's chief manager for accounts and tax, told Rapaport News. It also enjoyed a robust quarter at its Dubai subsidiary that trades mainly in rough diamonds, Kapadia added. Group revenue rose 16% year on year to INR10.96 billion ($155.7 million) in the three months ending September 30. Net profit jumped 97% to INR 370.3million ($5.3 million). "Now we're focusing more on jewelryoperations, and we're estimating good revenue from [that segment]," Kapadiasaid, adding that it offered better profitability compared with diamond cutting. Diamond sales remain Asian Star'slargest division, with revenue up 14% to INR 9.43 billion ($133.9 million) forthe quarter. Jewelry proceeds also improved 14% to INR 2.09 billion ($29.7 million). Total revenue is less than the sum of those two sales figures, because certain transactions span both segments.Image: Asian Star jewelry. (Asian Star)