Titan Company Ltd Q3 FY23 Earnings Conference Call Insights

Key highlights from Titan Company Ltd (TITAN) Q3 FY23 Earnings Concall

Q&A Highlights:

• [00:01:55] Avi Mehta of Macquarie asked about demand trends in January and update on jewelry business given the sharp increase in prices. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewelry said that TITAN is seeing good demand in Jan., despite price increases.

• [00:03:11] Avi Mehta of Macquarie also enquired about any update on the watches and eyewear. Suparna Mitra CEO Watches replied that watches and wearables saw a good Jan. and the company is very happy the retail growth. For eyewear also it was good Jan.

• [00:03:56] Avi Mehta with Macquarie asked if the 13-14% margin expectation for the watch business an annual or quarterly expectation. Suparna Mitra CEO Watches said that in 3Q23, margin was lower due to product, channel and category mix issues. However, YTD margins is in the range of about 13%. Also the outlook remains in that range.

• [00:05:26] Percy Panthaki from IIFL enquired that for next year if margins are going to be in the 12-13% range. Ashok Sonthalia CFO clarified that it will be in the same range of 12-13% the company is expecting for next year.

• [00:06:23] Percy Panthaki with IIFL also asked about the drivers of demand in gold despite prices rise. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewelry said that the company’s hypothesis is that people may have been waiting to purchase gold in Nov.-Dec. due to volatility, but with a positive outlook in Jan. and other factors, people are now looking to invest in the market.

• [00:09:08] Arnab Mitra at Goldman Sachs queried about jewelry demand slowing in lower end of TITAN portfolio and if that’s a concern. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewelry answered that it’s a mix of pluses and minuses. Studded saw some slowing but gold saw an upswing, possibly driven by festive. Currently it’s not a concern.

• [00:11:41]  Arnab Mitra at Goldman Sachs enquired if there’s an increase in gold leasing costs due to rising global interest rates. Ashok Sonthalia CFO replied that for the company it’s minimal of about 15-20 bp.

• [00:12:19] Siddhant Dand from Goodwill asked about TEAL’s long term vision despite being loss making. C K Venkataraman MD replied that TEAL had two businesses, one was doing very well and the other struggled. However, the business that struggled received the highest amount of orders this quarter so its outlook is stable and should deliver reasonable profitability.

• [00:16:32] Siddhant Dand from Goodwill enquired about the outsourcing mix in jewelry. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewellery answered that it varies between gold jewelry and studded. Overall, about 70% will be outsourced.

• [00:18:04] Shirish Pardeshi from Centrum asked about store expansion in US over the next 12-15 months. Vinay said TITAN is looking at adding more stores. Over the next 6-12 months, the company should expand across about 4 locations with more Indian population and store count increasing as high as 20. And across GCP, TITAN has aggressive plans for Quatar, Oman, and also Saudi if possible.

• [00:19:14] Shirish Pardeshi from Centrum asked about the new buyer growth in jewelry for TITAN. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewellery said that new buyer contribution is 49% to the total in 3Q23 and it’s very healthy.

• [00:30:27] Sheela Rathi of Morgan Stanley asked what the company is doing resulting in stellar performance vs. the industry. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewellery answered that it’s due to expansion of existing retail stores, inventory infusion in markets where they are low on market share, launches of theme design collections, and increased traction on gold exchange program and Golden Harvest enrollments.

• [00:32:44] Sheela Rathi of Morgan Stanley also enquired that on market share gains, if TITAN is gaining it in any particular market. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewellery said TITAN has launched specific collections in the South and East, but East has been a little more muted this year. So TITAN gained share in the South and West while sustaining market share in the East.

• [00:42:18] Manish Poddar from Motilal Oswal queried about the pricing inflation seen in diamond prices. Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewellery said the company’s estimate is around 15%, but it depends on the buying efficiency and when it was bought.

• [00:43:51] Aditya Gudibande at Piper Serica Advisors enquired what contribution does smarwatches bring to the revenue of watch and wearable segment. Suparna Mitra CEO Watches replied that for 3Q23 it was 10% of the total sale of wearables.

• [00:44:31] Aditya Gudibande at Piper Serica Advisors also asked about the growth expected in the smartwatches segment. Suparna Mitra CEO Watches answered that the company is looking at triple digit growth in the segment as the opportunity is huge.

• [00:46:04] Vishal Gutka from PhillipCapital enquired about contribution of gold exchange during 3Q23 and if its margins are different from normal business.  Ajoy Chawla CEO Jewellery answered that the gold exchange contribution is up in 3Q23 vs. 3Q22 at around 30%. TITAN added that the unit economics of gold exchange differs from normal business.

• [00:54:14] Devanshu Bansal with Emkay Global enquired if working capital is expected to go up from current levels. Ashok Sonthalia CFO said that working capital has gone up, but the capital employed is still under control. TITAN expects inventory to go up, but not to the same extent.