Kalyan Jewellers on Thursday said it has witnessed a robust increase in consumer demand and seen revenue growth of nearly 60 per cent in its India operations in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021.

In Q4 FY 2021, the company witnessed a robust increase in consumer demand resulting in revenue growth of approximately 60 per cent for our India operations, as compared to the same quarter in the prior year, Kalyan Jewellers said in a quarterly update.

Revenue growth for the first two months of the quarter (January and February) was approximately 35 per cent, while growth in March was significantly higher, skewed by the loss of sales we experienced in the base due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our retail operations in March 2020, it added.

The company said the vast majority of its growth in the recent quarter was same store sales driven, as only two stores were opened during the past one year period.

Kalyan Jewellers said it believes a significant driver of its recent revenue growth momentum in India has been a meaningful shift in consumer demand from the unorganised to the organised segment.

“Our growth in India was broad-based across geographies, although the growth in South India was better than in Non-South.

“While we did witness growth in our higher-margin studded product portfolio, the acceleration in demand for our plain gold jewellery products was higher, particularly for our faster-moving, staple, regionally-oriented gold jewellery collections which carry lower making charges,” the company said.

However, Kalyan Jewellers noted that gross margin in the most recent quarter has been adversely impacted.

In the Middle East, Kalyan Jewellers said its business continues to recover from COVID-19 related dislocations as restrictions are gradually being lifted within the markets in which it operates.

“For Q4 FY 2021, our Middle East business witnessed a decline in revenues of approximately 20 per cent over Q4 FY 2020, partially attributable to our decision to close 7 of our stores in the region (out of a 37 total base at the time) during FY 2021,” the company said.

In March 2021, Kalyan Jewellers completed its initial public offering (IPO) and raised approximately Rs 800 crore.