Titan’s net profit slips by 8% amid Covid curbs, gold price volatility

Pandemic-related restrictions on physical shops and volatility in gold prices saw Titan Company on Tuesday posting a 7.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in standalone net profit to Rs 491 crore during the January-March quarter. The company’s revenue during the period grew a meagre 2% to Rs 7,276 crore.

The jewellery business registered income of Rs 6,132 crore (excluding bullion sale) during the quarter, a 4% y-o-y decline.

The company is hopeful that the festive season will bolster its jewellery business. “The company is well prepared and looking forward to an exciting Q1 with all its stores ramped up for a much-awaited Akshaya Tritiya festival this year,” managing director CK Venkataraman said.

Customers staying indoors and shopping from the comfort of their homes during the pandemic helped Titan record stronger revenue from Caratlane, its online jewellery portal.

“Caratlane Trading Private Limited continued to do well in both online and offline channels, emerging as a strong omni player. The annual revenue was Rs 1,256 crore and profit Rs 39 crore (before taxes and exceptional items), compared to revenue of Rs 716 crore and profit of Rs 2 crore in FY21 [respectively],” the company said in a statement.

Titan also deals in watches and wearables, eyewear, perfumes, among other products, which helped support its performance during the quarter.
The watches & wearables business reported income of Rs 622 crore, a 12% growth. The eyecare unit reported income of Rs 134 crore, up 6% y-o-y, and other businesses such as Indian dresswear and fragrances and fashion accessories, reported income of Rs 42 crore, registering a growth of 20%.

The company added 269 shops during the year on a net basis. Titan’s retail chain (including Caratlane) has 2,178 shops across 337 towns with area exceeding 2.8 million square feet, as of March.

The company’s board also announced a dividend of Rs 7.50 per equity share. Share prices were already trading around 3% lower at Rs 2,386 apiece on Monday. Markets were closed on Tuesday.

The company said it is hopeful its global expansion will further improve its financial health in this financial year. “With international expansion in GCC markets and the first Tanishq store coming up in the US, we are gearing up to touch new horizons in FY23,” Venkataraman said.