According to the latest Wazir Textiles Index (WTI), there is a decline of one per cent in India’s overall textile and apparel exports in H1 FY19 stood at 18.4 billion US Dollar from the previous year. Similarly, textile and clothing imports increased by 4 per cent compared to the previous year, official sources said.
WTI also showed that export of all the categories except apparel have grown in H1 FY19 as compared to H1 FY18. Apparel exports saw a decline of 16 per cent this half year, largely attributed to the decline in apparel exports to the UAE, which have dropped inexplicably by 55 per cent during H1 FY19. India’s overall textile and garment exports to UAE also declined by around 50 per cent during first half of FY19. The EU, US and UAE remained the top export destinations for India’s textiles and garment products.
On the import front, all categories except fibre saw an increase in H1 FY19. Apparel imports increased sharply by 56 per cent, primarily due to the impact of reduced effective import duties post GST for imports from countries like China and Bangladesh. China continues to be the largest import partner for India, however, the imports declined marginally by 0.4 per cent in H1 FY19 as compared to the previous year.
As compared to H1 FY18, the average EBITDA margin increased by 1.1 percentage points to reach 13.8 per cent in H1 FY19. “Consolidated raw material cost constituted 52.3 per cent of sales in H1 FY19, while consolidated manpower cost constituted 10.2 per cent of sales. Raw material and manpower cost as a percentage of sales have remained almost stagnant during H1 FY19 as compared to H1 FY18. This reflects in the growing profitability of the top Indian textile companies,” the report said.
Evaluating the cumulative financial performance of the top Indian textile companies, it added that the consolidated sales of the top 10 selected companies were Rs. 21,272 core in H1 FY19 as compared to Rs. 19,378 crores in H1 FY18, growing by 10 per cent year-on-year.
– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel
