Turnover up 8.7% at Radiant Gems

Turnover at Radiant Gems has increased by 8.7% from Rs.26.6 Mn in 2002 to Rs.28.9 Mn in 2003 and the gross profit has increased from Rs.11.6 Mn to Rs.12.1 Mn.

However, Radiant Gems Charman, D.S. Munasinghe in his 2002-2003 review said that the slight improvement in turnover was not adequate to meet the overheads of the company. The poor performance of the company during the year under review is due to low utilisation of capacity during the year due to adverse marketing conditions.

Although the marketing environment improved during the first three quarters of the financial year, the conditions deteriorated seriously particularly due to the war situation, which prevailed in the Middle East.

The most lucrative business period of the year was lost.

According to the past experience, all the trade fairs take place during this period and we are generally filled with work. The lean period of the year is the quarter starting from April.

All our customers suspended their orders during this period and we are now coming back to normal. The company made a profit of Rs 2.3Mn during the nine month ending December 31, 2002.

Extending the Company’s customer base is the only way to overcome the difficulty of not having sufficient work periodically. Meaningful steps have been taken in this regard.

The Asian region continues to play a major role in jewellery manufacturing and the processing of stones. India and China are emerging as new major markets both as a consumer and as a producer.

Apart from our old customers we are in the process of attracting a new range of customers. The demand for high precision work is increasing.

Although there are several automated cutting factories, which produce high quality stones by machines we are still in a position to compete with these companies as a cheaper producer.

B P de Silva and Company will shortly enter into an agreement to process a minimum of 10,000 pieces of stones, 2.00 mm rounds or the equivalent.

The company addresses the service needs of small and medium jewellery manufacturers who require a few thousand stones to manufacture their jewellery.

It is proposed to serve these clients through the company’s web site using stones either from our local partners or from other sources.

Once again Sandawana Emerald mine is geared to produce a larger quantity of emeralds, which are now coming into fashion.

The company proposes to use its experience in cutting emeralds in the near future.

The work of the factory is now fully computerized. The efficiency of each lapidarist could be measured more correctly than before.

The company is poised to help the workers to produce more and minimize idle time. Several workshops have been planned to educate our work force. In this regard we have received a good response from our work force.

A separate training room has been established. Some methodical and continuous training is being carried out for the new recruits as well as for the senior lapidarists.

A new Computer Manager has been recruited who also functions as the Manager Administration. We have strengthened the most important pre-shaping section with a new knowledgeable manager.

It is proposed to increase the work force by about 30 new recruits to work in a roster system and keep the factory open every day to meet the increasing demand.