Titan Q4 Results: Profit Rises 40% Aided By Wedding Sales

Titan Co.'s quarterly profit surged, in line with estimates, boosted by a favourable base and robust jewellery sales during the wedding season.

Consolidated net profit of the country's largest branded jewellery maker rose 40% over the previous year to Rs 736 crore in the quarter ended March, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 746.7-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Revenue of the owner of Tanishq brand and eponymous watch brand rose 33% year-on-year to Rs 10,360 crore—against the Rs 9,322.18 crore forecast.

Titan Q4 Highlights (YoY)

• Operating profit was up 37% to Rs 1,089 crore, as compared with an estimate of Rs 1,072.42 crore.

• Margin stood at 10.5% against 10.2% on higher expenses. Analysts had forecast it at 11.5%.

• Expenses rose 32% to Rs 9,486 crore.

Sales of its mainstay jewellery segment, accounting for 88% of total revenue, rose 33% year-on-year to Rs 9,120 crore.

Excluding the sale of bullion, jewellery sales rose 24.7% to Rs 8,065 crore.

Higher price bands continued to see better growth during the quarter, the company said. The studded mix was also higher year-on-year at 33% as well as sequentially due to the seasonal activation. The fourth quarter saw a buyer growth of 15%, which the company said was a key catalyst. The average ticket size grew 8% as compared with last year, a significant rise from last year.

The wedding segment witnessed a comeback, inching marginally ahead of overall retail sales growth, according to the company.

Here's how its other segments fared:

• Watches and wearables business, which comprise 9% of sales, posted a 41.3% rise in revenue over the previous year to Rs 883 crore.

• Eyecare division saw 22.8% growth in revenue to Rs 165 crore.

• Revenue from other business, which includes fragrances and fashion accessories, rose 9.6% to Rs 251 crore. But the segment posted a loss of Rs 14 crore in Q4 as against a profit of Rs 2 crore last year. It has pared some losses sequentially, though.

"The year gone has witnessed several firsts in the history of Titan," said CK Venkataraman, managing director of the company.

"The jewellery, watches and wearables and eyecare achieved landmark milestones of Rs 30,000 crore, Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 1,000 crore of annual sales," he said, adding that the company looks forward to an exciting FY24.

The Tata Group firm added 121 stores across its consumer businesses to take the total count to 2,710, as on March 30. Its retail network comprises 763 jewellery stores, 1,005 exclusive outlets for watches and wearables, 901 eyecare outlets and 41 Taneira stores, among others.

Of the key subsidiaries, Caratlane Trading Pvt. reported total income of Rs 580 crore, 58% higher than last year driven by gifting campaigns around Valentine's Day.

CaratLane opened 47 stores during the quarter, taking the total count to 222, which is spread across 88 cities.

Titan Engineering & Automation Ltd. recorded total income of Rs 174 crore, 6.7% lower over the previous year. Revenues of the automation solutions division fell 23%, impacted by slower order deliveries. However, the manufacturing services division grew 33%. The order visibility and growth in manufacturing services continues to be encouraging, the company said.

Shares of Titan closed 0.26% lower on Wednesday before the results were announced, as compared with a 0.32% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50.