Titan Q4 profit, revenue fall as high input costs weigh

Titan Company Ltd on Tuesday reported a 7.2% drop in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter, dragged down by a steep rise in cost of materials.

The Tata Group company said it posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 527 crore for the January-March period, compared with Rs 568 crore a year earlier. Standalone profit also fell 7%% to Rs 491 crore, missing analysts’ forecasts of around Rs 600 crore.

The maker of Fastrack watches and Tanishq jewellery said its consolidated revenue from operations fell to Rs 7,267 crore from Rs 7,351 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Cost of materials and components consumed jumped to Rs 7,275 crore from Rs 4,675 crore

Total income for FY22 was Rs 26,411 crore, up 36% from Rs 19,426 crore in FY21 (excluding bullion sale). It recorded a profit of Rs 2,983 crore, before taxes and exceptional items, for the fiscal year in comparison to Rs 1,370 crore in FY21, a growth of 118%.

Other key highlights

1) Jewellery division recorded revenue of Rs 6,132 crore for Q4, down from Rs 6,397 crore a year earlier.

2) Jewellery division clocked earnings before interest and tax of Rs 780 crore for Q4 versus Rs 703 crore.

3) The watches and wearables business recorded sales of Rs 622 crore, up 12% from Rs 555 crore in Q4 FY21.

4) Eyewear business generated income of Rs 134 crore, compared with Rs 127 crore in the same period last year.

5) The watches and wearables business recorded EBIT of Rs 16 crore versus Rs 46 crore a year earlier.

6) Eyewear business registered an EBIT loss of Rs 3 crore versus EBIT of Rs 23 crore a year earlier.

Management commentary

CK Venkataraman, managing director at Titan, said the quarter had been satisfactory in terms of growth and profitability despite frequent disruptions in the quarter owing to Covid third wave and other geopolitical factors.

“The company is well prepared and looking forward to an exciting Q1 with all its stores ramped up for a much-awaited Akshaya Tritiya festival this year. With international expansion in GCC markets and the first Tanishq store coming up in the US, we are gearing up to touch new horizons in FY23,” he said.