Titan net up 11.3% to Rs 206 crore in Q4

Titan Company Ltd, the watch to jewellery and precision engineering products to eyewear and accessories business maker from the Tata Group, today reported a moderate growth of 11.3% in net profit to Rs 206 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to Rs 185 crore in the same quarter last year.

The total income for the quarter went up 7.3% to Rs 2,803 crore against Rs 2,613 crore in the same quarter last year.

The operating profit for the period increased 9.5% to Rs 276 crore compared to Rs 252 crore in the year ago quarter.

The watches division accounted for sales of Rs 502 crore from Rs 420 crore, showing a growth of 19.5%. The jewellery division sales stood at Rs 2,157 crore, showing a marginal growth of 3% over Rs 2,093 crore in the same period last year.

For the full year ended March 2014, Titan reported 8.1 per cent growth in income at Rs 10,815 crore and 2.2 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 741 crore.

"The year 2013-14 was a challenging year given the economic environment that was subdued. The year also witnessed other adverse factors like the regulatory changes that impacted our jewellery business," Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director said.

"The company will continue to invest in strategic initiatives taking into account our long term and sustainable growth plans. Given the expectations of our stakeholders and aspirations of our employees, we move confidently into the new financial year with aggressive plans," he added.

The year 2013-14 witnessed aggressive expansion of its retail network with a net addition of 125 stores by watches, jewellery and eyewear businesses. As on March 31, 2014, the company had 1,078 stores, with over 1.5 million sq.ft of retail space.

The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of 210% for 2013-14.