Jhunjhunwala offloaded 49 lakh shares in Titan in Q2; stock flat

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala sold 49 lakh shares of watch and jewellery retailer Titan Company in September quarter. A regulatory filing
on Friday showed Jhunjhunwala’s stake in the company fell to 6.51 per cent, or 5,77,51,220 shares, at the end of September, from 7.05 per
cent, or 6,26,51,220 shares, at the end of June quarter. The stock traded flat at Rs 1,233 on Friday. The data showed shareholding in the
name of Rakesh Radhesham Jhunjhunwala declined to 5.10 per cent in September quarter from 5.75 per cent in the preceding quarter ended June
2019
However, his wife Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s stake increased to 1.40 per cent from 1.30 during the same period. On a year-to-date basis,
Titan’s share price has rallied 33 per cent to Rs 1,235 as of October 10 from Rs 927.60 on January 1. Titan earlier this week said its
revenue from jewellery business declined 2 per cent in September quarter despite a 7 per cent growth in retail sales. “Retail sales
(secondary sales) grew 7 per cent in Q2 FY20 but revenues as per financials declined substantially by 2 per cent year-on-year in Q2FY20 due
to the adverse impact of the hedges that matured during the quarter,” the company said in a BSE filing on Monday. The jewellery business
saw a sharp drop in sales from mid-June on the back of a surge in gold prices
The trend continued in July and resulted in considerable de-growth in sales during the month, it said. The company saw 15 per cent
year-on-year retail growth between August and September compared with the same period of 2018-19. Edelweiss Financial Securities in a report
said it expects second quarter to be 'soft' for Titan with an year-on-year growth of about 6.9 per cent.