Titan Q4 PBT rises 13% at Rs 509 crore despite Covid-19 disruption

Minimises impact of pandemic through cost control measures; says witnessing good response from customers post opening up outlets

Watch to jewellery maker Titan posted largely in-line quarterly financial numbers although coronavirus (Covid-19)-related disruptions adversely impacted its top line and profit during this period.
 
The Tata group company said it could minimise impact of the pandemic due to aggressive cost-control measures. The company also said its stores across the country were receiving encouraging response as they open up under the relaxed norms.

 
In the quarter ended March 31, Titan posted profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 509.25 crore, a rise of around 13 per cent compared to the same period in the previous financial year. Net profit of the Bengaluru-headquartered firm in the fourth quarter declined 1.5 per cent to Rs 343 crore, year-on-year (YoY). Sequentially, net profit declined 28 per cent as the pandemic adversely impacted operations during March. 

Consolidated revenues of the firm declined around 4 per cent at Rs 4,753.2 crore YoY.
Sequentially, revenues were down 37.8 per cent. According to the Bengaluru-headquartered firm, significant impact came in the second half of March 2020 due to the pandemic with the shutting down of stores.
 
“The company’s good performance across all divisions in the first two months of the quarter was negated considerably by the Covid-19 pandemic in the second half of March,” said CK Venkataraman, managing director (MD) at Titan.

 
“Our stores are now opening up with strict social distancing norms across the country and response from customers over the last few weeks have been very encouraging,” added Venkataraman.
 
During the quarter, business from jewellery division declined by 5.8 per cent at Rs 3,754 crore on a YoY basis. The division, which is the largest revenue contributor for the company, saw a good run till the lockdown in March despite high gold prices.
 
Similarly, the eyewear business saw a dip in revenues by 17.4 per cent at Rs 108 crore against Rs 130 crore in the same period last year. Earnings from watches division increased 4.9 per cent to Rs 557 crore.
 
For the whole fiscal year (FY20), PBT rose 7.4 per cent at Rs 2,101.65 crore over the same period a year ago. Net profit for FY20 stood at Rs 1,492.66 crore compared to Rs 1,388.65 crore posted in FY19. Revenue at Rs 21,204.77 crore saw a growth of 6.2 per cent.