Titan Industries ends Quarter I on a promising note
July 18, 2006

After ending the last financial year with the company clocking its best ever performance, Titan Industries ended the first quarter on a promising note with a 50 per cent growth in sales.

Income from operations went up to Rs 449.92 crore from Rs 300.16 crore during the corresponding period last year, and the company’s profit before taxes doubled from Rs 2.64 crore last year to Rs 5.26 crore in the first quarter this year.

Last year, there was a deferred tax credit of Rs 3.63 crore and taxes payable were Rs 1.25 crore. Profit after taxes at Rs 5.02 crore was thus higher than the PBT for the quarter. This year, the deferred tax credit is only Rs 0.67 crore and taxes payable for the quarter are Rs 1.84 crore. Thus, profit after taxes at Rs 4.09 crore is lower than in the first quarter of the previous year.

All the divisions of the company have performed well.

The company’s watch division grew by 18 per cent, increasing its sales income from Rs 126.09 crore during the first quarter last year, to Rs 148.68 crore in the corresponding period this year. The jewellery division also grew significantly, by over 70 per cent from Rs 166.12 crore last year to Rs 288.25 crore this year.

The company’s ‘Other Products’ segment, which includes Precision Engineering and Accessories & Licensed Products – the newer businesses that the company has embarked upon recently – also grew their sales turnover by over 60 per cent from Rs 8.39 crore last year to Rs 13.56 crore this year.

Titan Industries continues to be the market leader in both its major product categories, and to sustain this leadership, the company’s spends on advertising and brand building went up by over 50 per cent to cross Rs 40 crore during the first quarter.

During the first quarter of the current financial year, the company also completed the allotment, on 12 May 2006, of the new shares and debentures consequent to the rights issue. With a total inflow of Rs 126.78 crore from the rights issue, the company is set to embark on an ambitious programme of further expansion of its retail outlets and its manufacturing base.