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RAPAPORT... Shrenuj & Company Ltd. reported that revenue jumped 20.2 percent year on year to $774.9 million (INR 46.4 billion) in the fiscal year the ended on March 31. The company's profit increased 22.3 percent to $15 million (INR 897.2 million) By segment, diamond revenue increased 26.5 percent year on year to $669 million (INR 39 billion), while studded jewelry sales rose 9.9 percent to $127 million (INR 9.2 billion). Intersegement sales, which are deducted from total revenue, jumped 217 percent to $26 million (INR 1.8 billion). During the year, Shrenuj opened a new cutting and polishing unit in northern India, where it produces small diamonds. The company also augmented its manufacturing capacity in existing facilities with automated processes and new equipment. As a result of these measures, Shrenju anticipates increasing its production this year by about 25 percent for the diamond manufacturing process. Shrenuj also increased its footprint in southeast Asia, adding more retail outlets for Forevermark diamonds. The company plans to open its first jewelry retail outlet in southern Africa this year. Shreyas K. Doshi, the chairman and managing director of Shrenuj, said, "The year has been a year of consolidation for us. We have been able to present a more focused and integrated product mix to our customers. We have been able to leverage the best of efficiencies from our infrastructure in India and overseas and have been rated higher for our products and services by our customers. "The diamond and jewelry market witnessed challenging times during the year with slightly subdued demand and consumer sentiment. This trend started to reverse during the second half of the year but by then, the input prices started climbing, putting pressures on margins. The rise of rupee against dollar and stability in prices of rough diamonds as well as gold has reversed this trend and we believe that this is the beginning of a good period for diamond and jewelry segment. The economic outlook for the current year is also very optimistic and we expect the demand from emerging as well as matured markets to rise by double-digits in the coming years," Doshi said. The board of directors proposed a dividend of 30 percent, subject to the approval of the shareholders. Based on the company's fiscal year performance, and a positive outlook for this year, the board also proposed a bonus issue of shares on a 1-for-1 ratio, subject to approval.
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