PC Jeweller Curbs Exports in Credit Crunch

RAPAPORT... PC Jeweller plans to reduce its exports by more than aquarter during the current fiscal year as it looks to minimize its credit needsin a tighter Indian lending market. The company receives payment for exports several monthsafter a transaction, and therefore has to take bank loans to buy raw materialsand support the business, Sanjeev Bhatia, PC Jeweller's chief financialofficer, told Rapaport News Monday. Shifting focus toward domestic saleswill boost its financial position, as those customers typically payimmediately, it said in a statement last month. "The company wants to rationalize [its] export...business asthe credit availability is getting squeezed," Bhatia said in the statement. The company, which manufactures, retails and exportsjewelry, slashed outbound shipments by 89% in the second fiscal quarter endingSeptember 30. It aims to cut exports by 26% to INR 20 billion ($286.7 million) forthe full fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, from INR 26.9 billon ($385.6million) last year. The segment currently represents about 5% of its sales. Total revenue fell 37% to INR 16.63 billion ($238.4 million)in the three months ending September 30 amid a "subdued market," while profitdropped 38% to INR 937.2 million ($13.4 million), it said. Domestic salesdeclined 16%.Image: PC Jeweller store, India. (PC Jeweller/Facebook)