Last updated: February 22, 2023, 4:38 PM IST
In 2011, Joyalukkas India had filed for an IPO of Rs 650 crore and shelved it.
The change in plan was due to poor market conditions, relocation of offices and better performance of the company in 2022
Joyalukkas India, a Kerala jewelery chain, has postponed its Rs 2,300 crore IPO planned for this year, the second time the company has postponed a share sale after filing documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. In 2011, it had filed for an IPO of Rs 650 crore and had been put on hold.
Alukkas Varghese Joy, general manager of Joyalukkas, attributed the latest change in the plan to poor market conditions, office shifts and the company’s better performance, and indicated that the IPO may take place in FY24.
“We have postponed the IPO due to a number of minor factors. We believe that the market conditions are not very favourable. In addition, we have done better over the past year and our numbers have improved. We are also in the process of relocating some offices in India,” Joy shared Money control.
The benchmark BSE Sensex lost 4.33 percent last year.
Joy said with improved numbers that the company could file for an IPO again.
“We cannot comment on the IPO amount at this time. We would like to see it happen in FY24,” he said.
Joy said the decision had nothing to do with the fluctuation in gold prices, which reached a new high of Rs 57,930 per 10 grams last month before falling when the US Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates further.
According to Joy, all gold companies in India performed well in 2022, with demand remaining strong despite high prices. “Overall gold consumption in the country has increased,” he said.
According to the World Gold Council, global gold demand rose 18 percent in 2022 from the previous year to 4,741 metric tons, with a strong performance in the fourth quarter. Jewelery consumption fell by 3 percent to 2,086 tonnes.
The council said Indian consumer demand was robust, falling just behind strong 2021 demand levels due to a sharp local price increase in the last weeks of December.
Joyalukkas will accelerate its expansion plans in India after slowing down in recent years due to the pandemic. The company had proposed spending Rs 463.9 crore from the IPO proceeds to open eight showrooms.
“We plan to open about 10 showrooms in India this year, mainly in the northern parts of the country,” said Joy.
The company has 85 showrooms in India and about 45 abroad, mainly in West Asia. Joyalukkas reported a net profit of Rs 473 crore in FY21.
Kalyan Jewellers, another jeweler from Kerala, successfully completed an IPO of Rs 1,175 crore two years ago.
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