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Titan Sales Hit by Indian Jewelers’ Strike
May 8, 2016 7:32 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Titan Company blamed a weak consumer sentiment and an Indian
jewelers’ strike for a drop in annual sales and profit.
Revenue
fell 5.3 percent to $1.69 billion (INR 112.8 billion) over the year to March 31,
while net profit slumped 16 percent to $103.5 million, Titan reported. The
company’s board decided to not recommend an additional dividend for the fiscal year
over and above an interim payout of $0.03 (INR 2.20) per share announced in
March.
Total jewelry sales slid 7.6 percent to $1.31 billion,
outweighing a 1.7-percent rise in revenue from watches.
“The
strength of brands was tested in an environment of subdued sales across all
retail formats,” said S. Ravi Kant, Titan’s executive vice-president for
corporate communications. Consumer sentiment failed to improve as much as expected,
he added.
The executive said a disruption following a strike
to protest a new 1-percent excise duty on jewelry hit revenue. Sales were also
weighed down as Titan ended its ‘Golden Harvest’ program under which Tanishq
jewelry could be bought at a discount.
The results follow
Titan’s announcement in April it planned to cut headcount and improve
productivity through a “voluntary retirement scheme” for employees with more
than 10 years of service or aged over 40.
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Tags:
India, Jewelry sales, Rapaport News, retail, Strike, Titan, Titan Company
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