Titan

Titan Company posted a pretty disappointing set of numbers for Q4FY15 performance. The 15% (YoY) drop in jewellery business hit the sales, which fell mainly on account of absence of Golden Harvest Scheme (GHS). Net sales for the quarter was down 11% at Rs.2474 crore. The company got down its costs by 11% yet EBITDA was down 9% at Rs.230 crore but margins showed an improvement from 10.56% to 10.82%. Tax outgo came down 24% and a write back of deferred tax of Rs.6 crore is what ultimately helped the company end the quarter with a 4% rise in net profit at Rs.215 crore.

Consolidated net profit for the year was at Rs.816 crore, up 11%. During FY15, the Watches business of the Company recorded an income of Rs.1921 crores, a growth of 7.3%. This was achieved through meticulous planning and execution of key initiatives. The income from Jewellery segment grew by 9.2%, crossing the Rs.9000 crores mark to Rs.9430 crore. The income from other segments comprising of Precision Engineering, a B2B Business, the Eyewear business and accessories grew by 12.9% to Rs.564 crore. The year witnessed aggressive expansion of its retail network with a net addition of 123 stores by Watches, Jewellery and Eyewear businesses. As on 31st March 2015, the Company had 1201 stores, with over 1.59 million sq.ft of retail space delivering a retail turnover in excess of Rs.11770 crores.

The big downer was the GHS closure which truly impacted the company as it was contributing around 25-30% to the company’s overall sales. The outlook ahead is also not too optimistic. In a TV interview, the CFO of the company said that he expects demand to remain soft and expects margins to drop, though higher sales could help mitigate a sharp drop. Jewellery business is not expected to turnaround in the first half of current fiscal. The company is going ahead with its expansion plans and will be adding one lakh sq.feet in current fiscal.