OREANDA-NEWS. Titan Company reported a decline of 11.1 percent in income in Q3 over the same period last year and an income growth of 8.3 percent for the nine-month period ended December 2013. The overall income in the third quarter, October to December 2013, was Rs2,650.46 crore, as compared to last year's income of Rs2,982.89 crore during the same period. The income for April to December 2013, the nine-month period, stands at Rs8,028.27 crore, registering a growth of 8.3 percent over last year.

The profit before tax for the nine-month period ending December 2013 showed a marginal decline of 0.3 percent, at Rs737.02 crore. Profit before tax for Q3, October to December 2013, was Rs228.23 crore. The net profit for the same period was Rs165.57 crore and Rs534.70 crore for the nine months ended December 2013.

The overall trend in sales over the last three quarters has been similar across all brands and channels with Q3 registering the lowest growth this year due to a poor festive season. The income from watches was Rs455.48 crore in Q3, a growth of 7.5 percent. On the other hand, jewellery business recorded a decline of 15.4 percent in Q3 over last year primarily due to a lower demand for gold jewellery. The first quarter had seen a surge in demand due to lower gold prices. The jewellery industry was also adversely impacted by the regulatory measures implemented to restrict gold imports. It had an income of Rs2,126.67 crore this year in Q3 as compared to Rs2,515.24 crore last year. For the nine months ended December 2013, the jewellery business recorded a growth of 8.7 percent. Other businesses of the company comprising precision engineering, a B2B business, the eyewear business and accessories grew by 18.6 percent in Q3. The combined income of these businesses in Q3 was Rs116.52 crore as compared to Rs98.26 crore last year.

The Titan Company retail chain is 1,039 stores strong, as on December 31, 2013, with the retail area crossing 14 lakh sqft nationally for all its brands.

Bhaskar Bhat, managing director of the company, stated that “The sentiments in the market continue to be weak and the company witnessed an extremely poor retail sales quarter for both its watches and jewellery businesses. The impact of the festive season this quarter was much below our expectations. Although the stock market has picked up, the high inflation levels have resulted in lower disposable income in the hands of consumers. In the last quarter of this financial year, we have planned aggressive sales promotions for both watches and jewellery, to stimulate demand and generate consumer interest in these categories. We will continue to make adequate investments in mass communication and build our brands.”