Titan Sees Rise in Jewelry Revenue

RAPAPORT... Titan Company's sales grew in fiscal 2018, driven by successful marketingactivity, as well as government regulations that favored the more organized jewelrysector, the retailer said. Revenue from all categories rose 21% to $2.41 billion (INR 162.45billion) in the financial year ending March 31, while profit surged 58% to $163.9million (INR 11.05 billion), the Indian company reported Thursday. Sales in the retailer's jewelry business increased 25% to $1.97billion (INR 132.57 billion) due to a successful attempt to promote its diamondproducts, as well as a strong reception among customers for its amended gold-exchangepolicy, according to executive vice president Ravi Kant. Additionally, the launch of several new collections helped boost sales, as did India's newgoods and services tax (GST), which has benefited jewelers with better organizational structures in place,Titan explained.   "The business gained from tailwinds provided by regulatorydevelopments like GST," said Bhaskar Bhat, Titan's managing director. Watch sales grew 3% to $316.2 million (INR 21.32 billion) for the year, Titan added. Revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter rose 12% year on year to $612.1million (INR 41.26 billion), while profit jumped 71% to $45.4 million (INR 3.06billion). Titan's jewelry sales climbed 14% to $498.2 million (INR 33.58billion) for the January-to-March period, while watch sales dropped 3% to $73.1million (INR 4.92 billion). Profit from jewelry sales soared 60% to $63 million (INR 4.25billion) during the quarter, while watch profit more than tripled, reaching $2.6million (INR 174.4 million). Image: Titan Company