No competitive threat for Sarine Light. OGI Systems, a competitor of Sarin, debuted their own light performance technology (LPT) called the CFire in the recent JCK Las Vegas jewellery show. On first look, this seems to be a potential competition for Sarin’s LPT product, Sarine Light. But note that the Sarine Light was first showcased back in Sept 2011 in the Hong Kong Jewellery Show and subsequently in May 2012 in the JCK Las Vegas Show. Sarine Light is already in the commercialisation phase with Japanese retailer CIMA adopting the technology in their stores. In contrast, CFire does not seem to be known by industry customers. We do not think that CFire could pose any major threat but Sarin may need to speed up on its marketing efforts to ensure wider adoption of its technology while it holds the lead. Maintain Buy, TP SGD1.66.

Improved sentiments at Las Vegas show. According to Rapaport, the JCK Las Vegas show ended with improved sentiments in the US retail market, providing the needed strength to compensate for weaknesses in Europe and the Far East. In our 28 May 13 report, we opined that a positive tone from the show would provide stability to the market. While trading of polished diamonds was still cautious, the real interest would be better gauged a few months after the show when the positive retail sentiments filter down to the rest of the market, thereby raising confidence.

Demand for diamonds still growing. DeBeers believes that overall demand for diamonds will continue to increase, with growth in 2013 outpacing the 3% registered in 2012. Strong first quarter sales reported by US jewellery retailers such as Tiffany, Signet and Blue Nile lend support to this expectation. This returning consumer confidence in the US, which now accounts for about 37% of world demand, would compensate for the expected slower China demand.

No material threat from OGI. We maintain our positive view on Sarin. We do not think that the new product from OGI would have any material impact as we believe that Sarin is way ahead in bringing its LPT product to the market. No change in our forecasts and TP of SGD1.66, which is pegged to 15x FY13F PER.

Source: Maybank Kim Eng Research - 14 Jun 2013