Titan Company locked in upper circuit of 10% post Q4 business update

Shares of Titan Company hit the upper circuit of 10 per cent at Rs 1,005 on the BSE on Thursday in late noon deals. This is despite the company saying its revenue growth for the March quarter (Q4), as well as the year (FY20), has been impacted severely due to a serious disruption in March on account of COVID-19 outbreak.

Till 03:20 pm; the trading volume on the counter more-than-doubled with a combined 8.2 million shares changing hands. There were pending buy orders for 199,000 shares on the NSE and BSE, the exchange data show.

The management said the company is working out its strategy to manage this crisis with particular focus on ensuring adequate liquidity is available till normalcy returns. Cost will be another major focus area for the company in these trying times.

The revenue for the jewellery division, which accounts for a majority business of the company, declined 5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) due to lost sales in March. Revenue growth in January and February stood at around 16.5 per cent YoY, Titan said in a quarterly update note.

The eyewear division, too, struggled to achieve growth in the quarter, primarily due to decline in trade channels. The disruption in March led to a 20 per cent drop in revenues for the quarter, it added.

“The COVID-19-led disruption was expected to strongly impact business performance, especially due to the Titan brand’s extensive presence in malls, which were shut down even prior to the lockdown,” Motilal Oswal Securities said in stock update.

“Even after the lockdown ends, the footfall in malls is likely to be low as people continue to maintain social distancing. It would be interesting to hear the management commentary on the road ahead. We would prefer to wait and watch in the current scenario as there is no clarity on when the lockdown will be lifted,” it added. The brokerage firm has ‘neural’ rating on the stock with target price of Rs 1,320 per share.