Titan Co. is expecting 25% year-on-year growth in revenue for the quarter ended March.
The growth comes amid higher contributions from the watches and wearables segment and emerging businesses, and low-base effect due to the Omicron wave and the Russia–Ukraine war last year, the company said in an exchange filing on Thursday.
Titan said it is making progress in terms of retail store expansion, both domestically and overseas, with its overall network presence—including CaratLane—at 2,710 stores as of March 31, 2023. The number of stores increased by 173 during the quarter under review.
Watches and wearables segment saw the second highest growth among verticals at 41% year-on-year. The rise was "underpinned by strong growth in the analog watches segment and almost tripling of revenues from wearables". Both of these led to the business crossing Rs 5,000 crore in sales at uniform consumer prices for fiscal 2023. The Titan and Helios brands saw double-digit growth, higher than the overall segment.
Among the key channels, Helios chains, large format stores, and e-commerce saw significantly higher growth rates in comparison to others. The segment also crossed 1,000 stores with the addition of 52 new outlets during the quarter.
The jewellery division recorded 23% year-on-year growth during the March quarter, driven by "buyer growth, both new and repeat, and an increase in ticket size", the company said. Purchases at the entry level and lower price bands saw a normalisation in buyer growth, it said.
Strong consumer purchase intent continued in January and February during the festive season. A sudden spike in gold prices, however, led to a relative softening of demand in March.
The eyecare business saw 22% annual growth in sales. The network expansion undertaken during the year helped Titan Eye+ stores achieve healthy double-digit growth year-on-year, the company said.
The emerging businesses segment saw the highest growth among verticals at 84% on-year. Fragrances and fashion accessories grew by around 31% YoY, driven by a 35% rise in fragrances and a 24% rise in fashion accessories. Indian dress wear unit Taneira saw sales grow 208%, "driven by new store openings and healthy growth from existing stores".
Among the subsidiaries, wholly owned arm Titan Engineering and Automation reported a 6% YoY decline in business on account of a 19% YoY fall in the automation solutions division and a 31% YoY decline in the manufacturing services division. Subsidiary CaratLane reported a 56% rise in business.
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