National News

Tariff hike to cut revenues of diamond polishers 28-30% this fiscal: CRISIL RATINGS

Reduction in debt to cushion profitability impact; credit profiles face challenges

Published

11 months ago

August 28, 2025

India’s natural diamond polishing industry faces a steep 28-30% fall in revenues to ~$12.50 billion this fiscal, compared with $16 billion last fiscal, after the imposition of 50% tariffs (25% reciprocal plus 25% penalty) by the US. The blow will follow a ~40% degrowth over the past three fiscals because of a fall in both prices and sales volume of natural diamonds as demand in the US and China dropped, and competition from lab-grown diamonds rose.

The 50% tariffs, effective this week, makes exports to the US tough for two reasons: one, the industry’s low margins make absorption of the incremental levy very difficult and two, declining demand means passing on the incremental burden to consumers will not be easy. The consequent reduced operating leverage could erode the operating margin of diamond polishers by 50-100 basis points and pressurise their credit profiles.

Our analysis of 43 diamond polishers, accounting for nearly a fourth of the industry’s revenues, indicates as much.

The Indian polished diamond industry derives 80% of its revenues from exports while the US is a key market for India and accounted for as much as 35% of its exports. Sales had begun getting impacted after a 10% tariff was imposed in April 2025. Hence, the share of the US in India’s polished natural diamonds slid 1100 basis points in the first four months of this fiscal to 24%.

But in a proactive move, diamond polishers had cranked up production in July and August to meet the anticipated festival demand in the US. Not surprisingly, exports surged 18% in July on-year And competition from lab-grown diamonds in markets such as the US will continue to dent revenues, with the variety having already captured ~60% of the market share by volume. Subdued Chinese demand adds to these woes.

Says Rahul Guha, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings, “The upshot is that revenues for the domestic industry, which polishes ~95% of all diamonds produced in the world, is set to drop to its lowest since 2007. To be sure, consumption in India has been increasing sequentially over the years, but the incremental demand doesn’t have the heft to fully offset the losses in the US and China. Additionally, while the UAE has emerged as a dominant hub for India’s exports with its share doubling to ~20%, on year, the risks of a substantial downturn in revenues are high.”

The industry’s ability to navigate the market dynamics, including tariffs, is crucial to its future. Diamond polishers can take three steps: increase domestic sales; push sales in alternative geographies; and set up polishing facilities in trading hubs as rerouting via low-tariff nations is not an option. Even if retailers explore alternative sourcing options in lower-tariff countries such as the UAE or Belgium, a significant portion of the diamonds would still be polished in India and thus subject to higher tariff.

And given the falling demand, US retailers are unlikely to absorb the tariff cost. Hence, operating margins of diamond polishers would decline to 3.5-4.0% after dropping 100 bps in the past three fiscals from a peak of 5.5% in fiscal 2023.

Diamond polishers are expected to keep a lean inventory to control debt. Miners have cut production to limit the fall in prices, in line with subdued demand. Timely collection from customers abroad will be monitorable amid slowing demand. Debt levels of diamond polishers should reduce over the medium term. In the road ahead, demand for natural diamonds in key markets will need close monitoring, given the tariff landscape and geopolitical uncertainties.

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National News

P N Gadgil Jewellers Delivers Record Q1 FY27 Revenue Of 24,130 Mn; With 41% Revenue Growth, 57% EBITDA Growth & 52% PAT Growth; YoY

Published

11 hours ago

July 28, 2026

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P N Gadgil Jewellers Limited, one of the most reputed jewellers in the country, boasting 194 years of excellence in craftsmanship and trusted service in the retail business of gold, silver, and diamond jewellery, announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 30^th June 2026.

Key Financial & Operational Highlights:

Retail Contribution: Retail sales continued to strengthen, with the retail share of total revenue increasing to 78% in Q1 FY27 from 70% in Q1 FY26, reflecting the Company’s continued focus on expanding its high-margin retail business.
Strong Same-Store Performance: The Company delivered a robust Same-Store Sales Growth (SSSG) of 46.1% YoY, driven by healthy customer footfalls and higher transaction volumes.
Improving Product Mix: The retail stud ratio improved to 10.9% from 9.9% in the previous quarter. Notably, the recently launched stores across Northern and Central India are delivering a significantly higher stud ratio in the range of 15% to 18%, validating the Company’s expansion strategy into markets with structurally higher demand for studded jewellery. Additionally, LiteStyle by PNG recorded an impressive stud ratio of 32.9%, highlighting strong customer acceptance of the newly launched lightweight jewellery brand.
Healthy Gold Retail Mix: Retail sales of Gold vedhani, bars and coins (GBC) accounted for 21.7% of total retail revenue during the quarter, while the average gold purchase per invoice is 4.84 grams. The Company’s (GBC) strategy continues to strengthen customer acquisition and retention, with the conversion to jewellery ratio improving to 53% in Q1 FY27 from 46% in FY26, and reinforcing the long-term value of this customer lifecycle strategy.
Retail Product-wise Performance: During the quarter, the diamond category continued to witness exceptional momentum, delivering 29% growth in value and 26% growth in volume, underscoring increasing customer preference for studded jewellery and supporting the Company’s premiumization strategy. The gold category recorded a robust 54% growth in value, while volumes remained broadly stable with only a 1% YoY moderation, reflecting healthy demand despite elevated gold prices. The silver category registered 131% growth in value, even as volumes softened slightly by 7% YoY.
Outstanding Festive Performance: The Company delivered a strong Akshay Tritiya performance, with festive sales increasing 80.3% YoY to Rs 2,514.1 Mn, driven by robust consumer demand, effective festive campaigns and continued market share gains during the festive season.
Higher Customer Engagement: Healthy customer acquisition continued across markets, with footfalls increasing 25.9% YoY to 214,587, while maintaining a robust conversion rate of 91.8%, reflecting strong brand recall, healthy demand and the Company’s ability to consistently convert store visits into purchases.
Growth in Transactions & Spending: Transaction volumes increased 26.3% YoY, while the Average Transaction Value (ATV) is Rs 92,264, indicating healthy customer engagement and higher spending per visit.

Strengthened Hedging Framework: The Company further enhanced its risk management practices by increasing its overall hedge coverage to approximately 70%, significantly reducing exposure to gold price volatility. The Company intends to increase hedge coverage to 80%+ in the near term, with a long-term objective of achieving near-full inventory hedge coverage (~100%), thereby enhancing earnings stability and reducing commodity price risk.
Underlying Operating Performance: The remaining unhedged inventory resulted in a unhedged gain of Rs 97 Mn during Q1 FY27, compared to Rs 101 Mn in Q1 FY26. Excluding this unhedged gain, Adjusted EBITDA increased to Rs 1,827 Mn from Rs 1,128 Mn, with the Adjusted EBITDA Margin improving to 7.6% from 6.6% in the corresponding quarter last year.
Adjusted Profitability: Excluding the net impact of the unhedged gain, Adjusted PAT stood at Rs 981 Mn in Q1 FY27, compared to Rs 618 Mn in Q1 FY26, translating into an Adjusted PAT Margin of 4.1%, as against 3.6% in the corresponding quarter last year.
Expansion Pipeline on Track: During the quarter, the Company remained focused on enhancing the productivity of its existing network while progressing site identification, franchise partner onboarding and operational readiness for its upcoming expansion, with a significant focus on Northern and Central region, in line with its growth strategy.

As of 30th June 2026, the Company operated 78 stores (77 in India and 1 in the U.S.A.). A few store launches are planned during Q2 FY27, with the majority of the year’s expansion scheduled across Q3 and Q4 FY27, in line with the Company’s phased rollout.