Titan says 'severe' impact of coronavirus on Q4 revenue

Watch and jewellery maker Titan Company on Thursday said its January-March quarter revenue growth has been "impacted severely" following disruptions on account of Covid-19.

The company said its revenue from its jewellery division declined by 5 per cent due to "lost sales" in March. It had a revenue growth of 16.5 per cent in January and February.

Consequent to the serious disruptions in operations in March, revenue growth for the quarter and consequently for the year has been impacted severely," Titan said in its quarterly update.

The company further said it 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," Titan said.

The company said sales of jewels division was picking up till the disruption on account of Covid-19. The company had closed all stores from March 22, following a nation-wide lockdown announced by the government.

The company further said the wedding jewellery sales were good till Covid-19 disruption.

Its 'Watches & Wearables'division reported a growth of one per cent, despite the significant loss of sales in the month of March.

"E-commerce was the fastest growing channel for both Q4 and full year. Retail sales in Large Format Stores or LFS (Shop-in-shops) also grew well aided by valentine activation sales and new product introductions, it said.

While, its eye wear division reported a decline of 20 per cent in revenue in the January-March quarter.

However, its other businesses segment, which is relatively small, witnessed a strong growth of 42 per cent during the quarter over the same period last year.

"In fragrances, Fastrack perfumes continue to increase its distribution reach and is now available across over 1,800 outlets and e-commerce channels. "Taneira" opened two stores during the quarter, one each in Mumbai and Bangalore, taking the total store count for the business to twelve covering five cities, it said.

India is presently going through an unprecedented complete lockdown of three weeks, ending on April 14, to prevent the spread of the virus.