This year’s honorees include a Midwest retailer and two multi-store independents, one in New York and the other in New England.
Alrosa’s sales climb but currency hurts profits
Russian diamond miner Alrosa saw diamond sales increase in 2014 but was stung by the sharp depreciation of the ruble.

Moscow--Russian diamond miner Alrosa saw diamond sales increase in 2014 but was stung by the sharp depreciation of the ruble.
According to full-year financials released Monday by the state-owned diamond mining company, it sold 39.6 million carats of diamonds in 2014, a 4 percent increase from the 38 million sold in 2013.
Revenue from diamond sales increased 23 percent to $3.1 billion.
Total revenue, including sales from Alrosa’s other segments, also was up 23 percent, rising from $2.91 billion in 2013 to $3.58 billion, with growth driven primarily by the higher diamond sales, according to the mining company.
However, Alrosa recorded a net loss of $290.1 million during the fiscal year due to foreign exchange losses on its U.S. dollar-denominated debt as the ruble depreciated greatly.
Production for the full year, meanwhile, declined by 2 percent to 36.2 million carats.
The average price of gem-quality rough diamonds sold in 2014 also was down, falling 3 percent from $176 to $171 per carat, as the average price growth in the market was not enough to offset the average price decrease due to a change in product mix.
Alrosa also reported that the cost of production was up 18 percent compared to the prior year.
This was due to an increase in salaries/wages and other staff costs, extraction taxes, fuel and energy costs and materials and services, as well as the depreciation of the ruble.
Alrosa is the world’s No. 1 diamond producer in volume terms and No. 2 in value terms, behind only De Beers.
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