Apparel exporters see steady revival in fortunes

Though the global slowdown has hit their bottom lines in the last one year,apparel exporters and manufacturers are expected to see a turnaround....

Though the global slowdown has hit their bottom lines in the last one year,apparel exporters and manufacturers are expected to see a turnaround in the next three to four months. Export is the main pillar to take it (growth) forward. At present,we have seen that the sectors export order has been improving tremendously as compared to the September-December-2008 period, said DK Nair,secretary general of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry.

Stability is slowly returning. In the first quarter of FY09-10,textile industry saw a negative growth of around 12 per cent (in returns). I hope it will remain flat for another 2-3 months and will give signal of positive growth at the end of last quarter this financial year, he said.

Rahul Mehta,president,Clothing Manufacturers Association of India,said that the industry should link currency growth with exports. As we have seen the markets upward trend for the last couple of months,we have realised that we are fast improving dollar-wise. As for growth in rupees,we are flat. With governments initiative,we are hopeful that exports will go northward in December.

The sector saw a growth of more than 37 per cent in total debt taken by companies during 2005-08. The profit margins declined drastically during this time period mostly in 2008. This was against an average increase of 20 per cent between 2003-06 when profit margins showed a significant rise in the last two quarters. For the March 2009 quarter,topline growth saw an average 10 per cent compared to the corresponding period previous year.