Bullish growth prospects for Indian home textile exporters: ICRA

Riding high on pandemic-induced lifestyle changes stemming from heightened consciousness about hygiene and increased prevalence of stay-at-home options, Indian home textile exporters are set to register robust performance during FY2022.

These factors have driven a sharp surge in demand for home improvement products over the past one year, and the demand momentum is expected to sustain during Q2-Q4 FY2022, continuing on the trend of the past three quarters. ICRA’s sample set of companies (comprising four large, listed players, accounting for ~35-40% share in India’s home textile exports) are projected to clock a robust double-digit growth of ~20-25% in FY2022. This follows a subdued 5% growth in revenues reported by the sample in FY2021, primarily due to ~40% Y-o-Y dent in performance in Q1 FY2021; the sample grew by~25% Y-o-Y during the rest of the year. It is noted that the sample had reported ~18% Y-o-Y decline in operating income in Q4 FY2020 as well, as the pandemic had started affecting the key countries of export. However, even after adjusting the base for the same, Indian home textile exporters are estimated to have reported a healthy growth of ~15-20% in the nine-month period ended March 2021.