Titan Q3 profit up 18 per cent to Rs 225 crore

Revenues rose 17% to Rs 3,426 crore as company pushed discounts to prop up sales in December

India's largest jewellery and watchmaker Titan said third quarter profits grew 18 per cent to Rs 225 crore and increase in revenues by 17 percent to Rs 3426 crore as it pushed discounts to prop up sales in December

"We are back to growth," S Subramanian, chief financial officer at Titan told an analyst call after the results. "Q4 would be better than Q3".

The higher growth impacted operating margins, calculated as sales minus expenses. The firm reported margins of 8.5 per cent as against 10.2 per cent during the same period last year.

The company has clocked income growth of 17.5 per cent in the quarter over the previous year primarily on account of growth in jewellery over a low base, said Bhaskar Bhat, managing director of Titan in a statement. "Festive demand remained lukewarm and needed shoring up with consumer schemes. Our effort continues therefore to be one of generating demand through new product introductions and network expansion while retaining our focus on cost control".