TanzaniteOne gemstone sales regain glitter
GEMSTONE producer TanzaniteOne has emerged sparkling after a gloomy couple of years that saw sales plunge and the company fight off an unwanted takeover bid from rival Gemfields.
TanzaniteOne will this morning tell the market that it achieved $5.4m (£3.6m) of sales in the second quarter of 2010 – an 80 per cent improvement on the lacklustre first three months of the year and the best quarterly sales performance in two years.
The company said the better results were due to an improved demand for tanzanite gemstones as the economic recovery gets underway, as well as a growing revenue stream from its own cutting and polishing division.
A June rough tanzanite sale by the firm in Dubai achieved an average price-per-carat of $13.40, significantly higher than the $5.50 per carat at a May sale of lower-quality stones.
In late 2008, TanzaniteOne successfully rebutted an attempt by Gemfields to take control of the company.