Kalyan is shining but pricey

Shares of Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd are down 5% since its September quarter (Q2FY25) results were out on Wednesday during market hours.

- Pallavi Pengonda

Sure, a cut in customs duty on gold imports to 6% from 15% pushed customer footfalls higher, boosting sales during the quarter. But the duty reduction also meant an inventory loss of ₹69 crore, leading to a 1.5% year-on-year drop in reported EBITDA of the India business to ₹263 crore. EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusting for the duty impact, India business EBITDA rose by 24%, although gross margin and EBITDA margin have contracted. The drop in margins is on expected lines, given the rising share of franchised showrooms with relatively lower margins. However, it should be noted that Kalyan's rapid retail expansion through a franchise-owned company-operated (FOCO) model, which is capital-light, has helped it beat Titan Co. Ltd on revenue growth.