Titan Company Ltd’s  income for the second quarter ended September 30, 2018  of the Financial Year 2018-19 jumped by 26% to Rs. 4,353 crore from its income for Q2 2017-18 which was Rs. 3439 crore.

The Company’s income for the April to September 2018 period, or the first half of this financial year, amounted to Rs. 8,622 crore, registering a growth of 16% y-o-y.

Titan reported a Standalone PBT for Q2 of Rs.446 crore, as against Rs.425 crore reported in the same period of the previous year.

Representing a rise of merely 5%, analysts have pointed out that this was the lowest growth in PBT recorded by the Company for some time.

“The growth in the profit before tax for the quarter was muted due to provision made to the tune of Rs.29 crore  for investments made as part of Treasury operations in inter corporate deposits in the IL&FS group and certain one-time franchisee compensations on store takeover in the Jewellery segment,” the Company explained.

Titan’s jewellery division Tanishq, India’s largest jewellery retailer however performed strongly in the quarter, “following a subdued first quarter” the Company stated. The jewellery division reported an income of Rs. 3,582 crore as compared to Rs. 2,788 crore achieved in the same period last year, thus recording a growth of 29% y-o-y.  

Titan’s Watches business also recorded a “healthy growth” for the quarter. Its income rose to Rs. 676 crore as compared to an income of Rs. 576 crores earned in Q2 2017-18, marking a growth of 17%.

“The jewellery division continues to gain market share and watch business is seeing very good volume growth as well,” the Company stated.

Titan’s Eyewear business grew by 19% in the quarter, recording an income of Rs. 120 crore as against Rs. 101 crore last year. Other segments of the Company comprising accessories grew by 24% in Q2 recording an income of Rs.33 crore as compared to an income of Rs. 27 crore reported for the same period last year.

As of September 30, 2018, Titan had a retail chain of 1,540 stores, with a retail area crossing 1.9 million sq. ft. nationally for all its brands.

Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director of the Company said:  "The Company has done well across all its businesses in the second quarter, delivering 26% growth over last year. The Jewellery business picked up this quarter after a soft first quarter and the Watches business had one of its best quarters with an extremely healthy growth in bottom line for the first half. The Eyewear business has picked up too with our investments in brand building showing results now.”