Titan Co. slips as COVID-19 may hit biz substantially in FY21

Titan Company fell 1.75% to Rs 951 after the company said it expects its businesses to be hit "very substantially" in the current financial year due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Titan said that the lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to hit the company's businesses very substantially in the financial year 2020-21. The company expects the economy to shrink, and tight regulations on operations of stores to continue for some time.

"Customers can also be expected to be wary of stepping out of their homes for some time. With job losses expected to increase substantially and salaries expected to fall or stay flat at best, spends on discretionary products could get affected more," Titan said in its annual report for 2019-20.

However, the company said it also expects customers to spend relatively more on jewellery compared to other discretionary spends as gold jewellery continues to be a valuable store of value.

"The focus therefore for financial year 2020-21 will be on cash flows and optimise spends. The company has therefore already begun a 'war on waste' programme to identify all costs that can be cut under the circumstances and ensuring adequate liquidity is available to run the businesses efficiently and also leveraging the company's strong balance sheet to seize opportunities that may present itself during the year will be key focus areas," the company added.

Titan Company is engaged in offering watches, jewelry and others. The company's segments include watches, jewellery, eyewear and others.

Titan's standalone profit rose 21% to Rs 356.79 crore on 5.6% decline in net sales to Rs 4370.10 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.

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