Jewellery retailer Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) today reported an 8 per cent decline in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 17 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31 as compared to the corresponding period last year.
The PAT of the company was Rs 18.49 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY15, TBZ said in a release issued here.
The total income from operations declined by 34 per cent to Rs 305.16 crore during the quarter under review compared to Rs 463.01 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
"Fourth quarter performance was impacted by the nationwide agitation by gems and jewellery industry in protest against imposition of 1 per cent excise duty on jewellery sales," TBZ Chairman and Managing Director Shrikant Zaveri said.
"Even in these challenging times we were able to improve our gross margins by 364 basis points year-on-year to 17.4 per cent and keep our operating cost under strict control," the MD said.
The company, he said, continued with its efforts to rationalise and refresh the inventory.
"These measures helped us maintain a positive cash flow. During the quarter we incurred a hedging loss of Rs 13.6 crore on account of rising gold prices," he added.
