Timex hopes to clock profit this fiscal

The Indian arm of the US-based watch major Timex is likely to turn profitable by the end of the current fiscal.

Kapil Kapoor, managing director of Timex India and regional director (south Pacific), Timex, said the company has wiped out nearly 90 per cent of the Rs 124 crore accumulated losses.

"We will definitely post a net profit this year," he said at a press conference commemorating the company's 150 years in business.

The company is also planning to invest another Rs 6.75 crore in its newly opened manufacturing facility in Himachal Pradesh. The fresh investments will raise Timex's annual manufacturing and assembling capacity of 6.2 million by another 3.5 lakh units.

According to Kapoor, the company sold close to 1.5 million watches last year, recording a growth of 7-8 per cent. In a slight shift from its current strategy in India, the company said it would increasingly focus on its premium range rather than just looking to gain more volumes.

Timex is the second-second largest watch maker in India after Titan. Timex Watches BV has an 83 per cent stake in the Indian arm while the rest of the shares are owned by the public.

Last year the parent company hiked its stake in Timex India to 83 per cent by investing an additional Rs 20 crore.

The company also announced the launch of the new collections. The men's range comprises steel watches in wide leather straps with bolder stitches.

The watches are available both in soft muted and bright metallic colours, and have a retrofeel about them. The women's collection comes in square and rectangular shape with wide cuff leather straps, floral and rainbow coloured dials in metallic hues.