Titan Co profits up 9.4 percent; Tanishq business grows 11.2 percent

Indian watch, jewellery and eyewear retailer Titan Co Ltd (TCL) Tuesday said its income grew 9.4 percent for the quarter ended Dec 31 compared to the same timeframe last fiscal year while its growth for the last three quarters was pegged at 16 percent.

Overall income in the third quarter stood at Rs.2,898.28 crore, as compared to last year's income of Rs.2,650.46 crore during the same period. The income for April to December 2014, the nine-month period, stands at Rs.9,316.61 crore.

Profit before tax (PBT) for the quarter stood at Rs.243.05 crore compared to Rs.190.73 crore in the last fiscal. In the current fiscal year, until December, the company showed a growth of 9 percent at Rs.803.63 crore profits compared to Rs.607.98 in the previous fiscal.

"This period, which is a festival quarter, faced heightened activity from e-commerce players, participating in this gifting season. Going forward, the market sentiment is looking good, with the fiscal budget from the new government coming up, drop in inflation and positive global factors like the slump in oil prices", the company's managing director Bhaskar Bhat said in a statement.

While its earnings from watches declined marginally to Rs.442.63 crore compared to the third quarter of the last fiscal, its jewellery business, Tanishq grew 11.2 percent over the last year.

It had an income of Rs.2,347.39 crore in the third quarter as compared to Rs.2,110.70 crore last year. For the nine-month ended December 2014, the jewellery business recorded a growth of 17.4 percent.

Other businesses of the company comprising precision engineering, eyewear and accessories grew by 14.8 percent.

"The company is gearing up for the last quarter with launch of new products and advertising campaigns that are lined up, including activation by some of the brands," said Bhat.