Titan shares jump 3% after posting 6% rise in Q1FY20 PAT - Jewelry, watch biz stellar performers

Jewelry-maker Titan Company missed analysts estimates during the first quarter of the fiscal year FY20. On Tuesday, the company presented its June 2019(Q1FY20) quarterly results, where the company bagged a standalone net profit of Rs 370.73 crore which was higher by 6.17% compared to Rs 349.17 crore a year ago same period. Interestingly, the Q1FY20 PAT saw double-digit growth as against a net profit of Rs 294.58 crore in preceding quarter. A Bloomberg poll of analysts had predicted net profit to come around Rs 412 crore in Q1FY20. Standalone sales in the latest quarter stood at Rs 4,885.38 crore witnessing 14.45% rise versus sales worth Rs 4,268.56 crore in Q1FY19. Also, sales in Q1FY20 was up by 5.49% from Rs 4,630.93 crore in Q4FY19. 

On standalone front, the  profit before tax for the same period grew from Rs.487 crores to Rs.523 crores. On segment-wise revenue, the  Jewellery division recorded an income growth of 13.3% in the first quarter. The income from this division in Ql was Rs.4047 crores as against Rs.3572 crores last year. Growth in the jewellery segment was adversely impacted by high gold prices, especially during the month of June 2019. 

Further, the  Watches business grew from Rs.594 crores in Ql last year to Rs. 715 crores this year, recording a growth of 20.4%, powered by excellent growth in brand Titan. Meanwhile, the Eyewear business grew by 13.1% to Rs.149 crores for Ql this year. The Company's other businesses comprising accessories, fragrances and sarees grew by 37.9%, to Rs.36 crores this year. 

Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director of the Company stated that "The macro-economic environment coupled with lower consumption have impacted some of our businesses. The retail growth in jewellery was driven by encouraging performance in the studded as well as wedding jewellery segments. However, there has been a weak consumer sentiment prevailing across, especially in jewellery with additional factors like price volatility and customs duty increase. The Watches business has done well, with a growth of 20% while retaining its focus on healthy margins.”

Bhat added, “The profit growth for the Company appears subdued due to investments made in biennial overseas conferences for our business associates across all divisions as well as the impact of wage settlement with our unionized employees that was cordially concluded in this quarter. The Company is gearing up on all fronts across its portfolio of brands and businesses to stimulate demand in the coming quarter through innovative campaigns and new product launches.”

On a consolidated basis, the  income and PBT for Q1 of the Company were Rs.5095 crores and Rs.521 crores respectively. 

Retail expansion continued with a net addition of 45 stores across all its businesses in the first quarter, ending the period with a retail area of over 2.1 mn sq.ft nationally. The Company's retail chain is 1640 stores strong, as on 30th June 2019 and the network expansion effort will remain undiminished across all its businesses - Watches, Jewellery and Eyewear. 

Post result announcement, Titan shares jumped over 3% on stock exchanges. On Sensex, the company was trading at Rs 1,050.50 per piece up by Rs 13.70 or 1.32% at around 1510 hours. The company has also clocked an intraday high of Rs 1,070 per piece on the index.