Titan Reduces Consumer Prices for Select Diamonds

Weakness in the global diamond industry could impact Titan Company’s profits as the decline in polished prices has prompted the Indian retailer to discount jewelry at the consumer level.

“We have traditionally not looked at price corrections based on this [type of] situation, but since there has been a significant impact, we have done small corrections in our pricing,” said Ajoy Chawla, the CEO of Titan’s jewelry division, in an earnings call Friday. “And to that extent, that may result in some margin dilution over the next maybe seven, eight months.”

However, the impact is “not so material,” Chawla added — meaning it’s not significant enough to affect investors’ decisions. This is because the price decline has been focused on “solitaires,” — referring to diamonds of around 0.30 carats and higher — which constitute a small proportion of the company’s business.

In addition, the executive continued, the company cannot estimate whether or not prices will recover.

Price drops should theoretically make diamonds more accessible to consumers, but they also make shoppers uncertain about investing, he explained.

The comments came as Titan reported a 37% year-on-year increase in revenue to INR 126.53 billion ($1.52 billion) for the second fiscal quarter that ended September 30, including subsidiaries. Jewelry sales rose 39% to INR 110.81 billion ($1.33 billion), reflecting successful product launches and marketing campaigns, the company explained. Group profit jumped 10% to INR 9.16 billion ($110.2 million).

“We retain our focus on improving market share by offering differentiated products to our consumers touching their everyday lives in a meaningful way,” said group managing director C.K. Venkataraman. “The festive season in [the third fiscal quarter] has started well and we are optimistic for our performance in the rest of the financial year.”

Titan owns the Tanishq brand and is India’s largest formal jewelry retailer.