Tara Jewels Limited, an integrated player in the jewellery industry with experience ranging from Designing to Retailing of Jewellery reported its Unaudited Results for the six months ended September 30, 2013. The company recorded Consolidated Sales (Excl. Bullion) of Rs. 6812 mn as against Rs. 6073 mn in H1 FY13, a yoy growth of 12%. EBITDA (Excl. Bullion) stood at Rs. 654 mn; an EBITDA Margin (Excl. Bullion) of 11 %. Net Profit stood at Rs. 227 mn, PAT Margin of 3%. In line with the commitment during the IPO, the company has expanded its retail footprint with 50 Operational Stores spreaded over 37 Cities in 12 States. %% Commenting on the results, Rajeev Sheth, Chairman & Managing Director said, “Tara Jewels Limited is pleased to declare maiden interim dividend of Rs 1 per share. We have announced another strong quarter of performance with a profitable growth in both Retail as well as Exports Business. As an Integrated Jewellery player we stand to benefit in terms of cost advantage and have an ability to serve the value added segment of the market even in the challenging regulatory environment. In the International Business, we have seen a healthy growth in the orderbook backed by orders from Large Retailers of the world. In the current year, we have added New Geographies, New Customers, New Brands and have widened our SKUs. We have a very strong pipeline of Designs/Collections with high revenue generating potential for the upcoming Holiday Season. In the Retail Business, keeping in line with our commitment during the IPO, we are happy to announce that we now have 50 Operational Stores spread over 37 Cities in 12 States. The recent changes announced by RBI clearly indicate the Government of India intends to encourage the Exports of Jewellery by giving Exporters priority allocation of Imported Gold and simultaneously curb the imports of Gold for the Domestic Use. The 20:80 principle of RBI does not have a significant impact on Tara Jewels as we derive over 80% of the revenues from exports. In September 2013, the RBI has also disallowed Gold on Lease facility and restricted the Nominated Agencies to Import Gold for Domestic Use. The new requirements have restricted the supply of Gold for the Domestic Use. To adapt to the stringent regulatory environment we are Re-strategizing the India Retail Business. We shall continue to expand our footprints through Shop-in- Shop model and look at options of Asset Light Franchise Model. We shall continue to monitor our existing 50 stores in terms of profitability benchmarks and if require will look at options of relocations /closures of few stores. By adopting the new strategy we shall now limit our capital allocation and also increase the returns from the capital already invested.” %% Commenting on Retail Business in India, Vikram Raizada, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (Retail) said, “In line with the commitment during the IPO we have 50 Operational stores spread over 37 Cities in 12 States. We have developed Customer Friendly Store formats of 1000 sqft with a Browse Walls and in store workshops. Our Store designs are Smart, Scalable and Sustainable and specifically designed to make profitable growth. As per our Strategy, we are now focusing on achieving faster expansion with lesser capital outlay. In this direction we have already opened 1 store in the Shop-in-Shop Model. Further we are exploring options of taking up the Asset Light Franchise Model. I am pleased to inform that in the last Quarter Tara Jewellers has been awarded ‘LUXURY RETAILER OF THE YEAR at the Star Retailer Awards 2013 for Excellence in Retailing."