Holidays Drive ‘Exceedingly’ Good Sales at Titan

RAPAPORT… Revenue and profit at Indian jeweler Titan Company rose in the third fiscal quarter amid strong demand during the October and November holiday season.

Sales jumped 32% year on year to INR 100.94 billion ($1.35 billion) in the three months ending December 31, including at subsidiaries, the company reported last week. Profit surged 91% to INR 10.12 billion ($135.5 million).

While most divisions saw growth from pre-pandemic levels, the jewelry segment did “exceedingly well” during the period, which includes Dussehra, Dhanteras and Diwali, all popular holidays for purchasing gold jewelry, Titan noted. Sales from the category climbed 33% to INR 90.59 billion ($1.21 billion) during the quarter. Revenue from watches grew 29% to INR 7.10 billion ($95 million).

“The festive purchases in the quarter have driven Titan’s strong growth in all businesses of the company, and the quarter has turned out to be one of the best quarters in terms of growth and profitability,” said C.K. Venkataraman, Titan’s managing director.

Sales for the first nine months of the fiscal year soared 48% year on year to INR 211.61 billion ($2.83 billion). Profit for the April-to-December period more than tripled to INR 16.71 billion ($223.7 million) compared to INR 4.06 billion ($55.9 million) the year before.

“While the onset of Covid-19’s [third] wave has slowed down the strong momentum, the company is hopeful of ending the year on a positive note,” Venkataraman added.

Image: A Titan store in Deoghar, Jharkhand. (Shutterstock)