Sarine Sales Soar as Manufacturing Returns

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies' revenue and profit exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2021 as the diamond market bounced back.Sales surged 61% year on year to $36 million in the six months ending June 30, the Israel-based supplier of polishing equipment reported Thursday. Profit rose to $12.6 million from $1.2 million a year earlier."Results...benefited from the strong resurgence of manufacturing activities commencing late in the third quarter of 2020 and carrying over into 2021," the company said. "The recovery was driven by the reopening of retail activities in key global markets in late summer 2020."The resurgence of manufacturing activities this year - in contrast to the lockdown a year before - led to greater use of the company's Galaxy inclusion-mapping apparatus, which generates revenue each time a customer scans a rough stone. The recovery also supported demand for capital equipment - machines that Sarine sells outright.This recovery withstood India's Covid-19 outbreak in April and May, Sarine explained. Many Indian manufacturers canceled their seasonal vacations because of the fear of imminent lockdowns, enabling "near continuous" work throughout May and June, the company added. Revenue from the key market increased 46% to $25.1 million for the half year.Meanwhile, sales in Africa more than tripled to $4.6 million from $1.4 million a year earlier, while revenue from Europe more than doubled to $1.1 million, up from $478,000 in the first half of 2020.Sarine's stock price jumped 10% on the Singapore Exchange and 13% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange following the announcement. The company recently became the first to have a dual listing on both bourses; earlier this week, Sarine executives rang the opening bell at the Israel exchange.Image: A Sarine scanning machine at the company's laboratory in Israel. (Sarine Technologies)