Profit Bounces Back at Indian Jeweler Titan

RAPAPORT... Titan Company's sales and profit recovered in the first fiscal quarter as the Indian jewelry retailer weathered the Covid-19 crisis that afflicted the country earlier this year.Revenue - including at subsidiaries - soared 74% year on year to INR 35.19 billion ($473.8 million) for the three months ending June 30, the company reported last week. The jeweler registered a profit of INR 180 million ($2.4 million), compared with a loss of INR 2.97 billion ($40 million) in the same period of 2020.Jewelry sales jumped 67% to INR 30.5 billion ($410.7 million), while revenue from watches almost quadrupled to INR 2.93 billion ($39.5 million). Other proceeds came from smaller divisions such as eyewear.The company was better prepared to handle India's 2021 coronavirus outbreak than it was a year earlier, management said. It was able to make sales in April, unlike in 2020, when revenues for that month were "zero," the jeweler said. May saw minimal sales in both years, while June 2021 was "marginally ahead" of the same month last year, the company added."While we started the quarter with strong business momentum, the second wave of the pandemic severely disrupted it," said Titan managing director C.K. Venkataraman. "The learnings and experience of the past year helped us navigate this quarter's turbulence much more efficiently. As the lockdowns started getting relaxed in different parts of the country in the month of June, and with the rising vaccination level, we saw demand coming back steadily."Image: A Titan watch. (Shutterstock)