Jewellery and accessories maker Titan Company returned to growth after nearly a year, with third-quarter sales rising 12% on year, excluding bullion sales.
The total income for the quarter was Rs. 7,324 crores, including sales of gold bullion to the extent of Rs. 340 crores, compared to the income of Rs. 6,226 crores for the same quarter in the previous year.
Without including bullion sales, the decline in the company’s revenue has narrowed to 22% for the financial year so far.
While the Jewellery business grew by 16% (excluding gold bullion sales) over the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the watches and wearables and eyewear divisions remained under water, posting declines of 12% and 7% respectively.
“There was a significant recovery in the diamond studded segment of the jewellery business,” India’s largest jewelry chain said.
“While coins sales continue to remain high, wedding jewellery segment also witnessed a very good growth in the quarter.”
The jewellery division recorded an income of Rs. 6,249 crores for the quarter (excluding gold bullion sales) as compared to Rs. 5,409 crores last year, a growth of 16%.
Watches and wearables had sales of Rs. 550 crores against Rs. 625 crores in the previous year, a decline of 12%.
The eyewear business also improved with revenues declining by 7% in the quarter, recording an income of Rs. 124 crores as against Rs. 133 crores last year.
The recovery in the other segments of the company comprising Indian dress wear and accessories was still slow and these divisions recorded an income of Rs. 36 crores compared to Rs. 50 crores in the previous year, a decline of 28%.
Sales were helped by the shifting of the festival season towards the end of the year this year.
The top line momentum helped the company post its highest ever quarterly profit with profit before tax and exceptional items of Rs. 765 crores, compared to Rs. 637 crores in the previous year.
The company made a provision for Rs. 137 crores relating to impairment in the investments in Favre Leuba AG (FLAG), a wholly owned subsidiary, consequent to the decision to significantly scale down the operations outside India.
For the first nine months of the financial year, Titan Co recorded a profit of Rs. 668 crores before exceptional items and taxes compared to a profit before tax of Rs. 1,589 crores in the previous year.
The Jewellery division declared earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of Rs. 752 crores for the quarter compared to Rs. 701 crores in the previous year.
The watches division reported an EBIT of Rs. 57 crores for the quarter compared to Rs. 52 crores in the previous year.
The eyewear division continues its remarkable performance in the quarter with EBIT of Rs. 22 crores (loss of Rs. 7 crores in the previous year) and has broken even for nine months period (loss of Rs 16 crores in the previous year).
The company’s retail chain (including CaratLane) stands at 1,854 stores, as on 31st December 2020 with a retail area crossing 2.4 million sq.ft. for all its brands covering 292 towns.
Of the principal subsidiaries of the Company, the Aerospace and Defence business of Titan Engineering and Automation Ltd (TEAL) was impacted severely due to the pandemic even though the Automation Solutions business performed well, the company said.
It recorded revenues of Rs. 87 cr. for the quarter and EBIT of Rs. 6 cr. Year-to-date, revenue of Rs. 254 cr is still down 22% and profit before tax of Rs. 31 cr is down 46%.
Titan Co said CaratLane continued to do very well in both the online and oftline channels and ended the quarter with a growth of 34% and a positive EBIT of Rs. 21 cr.
The revenue for the year-to-date was Rs. 468 cr ( decline of 1 % ) and the net loss dropped to Rs. 8 cr.
Titan MD C K Venkataraman said the recovery witnessed has been significantly better than what the management had hoped just a few months back.
“It is the innovativeness and the untiring efforts of the employees and all business associates along with the positive consumer sentiment that has made this possible. We believe the focus on productivity and cash generation will help improve the company’s margins in the future,” he added.
