 "Titan")
Indian jeweler and watchmaker Titan reported fourth-quarter profit below estimates on Friday, as higher gold prices ate into strong demand for the precious metal during the country's wedding season.
The company's reported a profit of Rs 786 crore ($94.2 million) in the quarter ended March 31, up 7.1% from last year, but missing analysts' expectation of Rs 799 crore as per LSEG data.
Titan's jewelery segment, which houses brands including Tanishq and CaratLane, rose 19%, boosted by healthy inflow of buyers and double-digit percentage growth in its same-store sales, it said in its quarterly update last month.
Overall revenue grew 17%, it had said.
Still, the segment fell short of the 23% growth it reported in the same period last year.
Higher gold prices weighed heavily on Titan's expenses, which jumped 18% to Rs 1,043 crore. Global gold prices rose 8.2% in the reporting quarter.
Titan's earnings before interest and tax margin contracted to 11.1% from 12% during the quarter.
