Textiles stocks in demand; Vardhman, Siyaram Silk, RSWM hit 52-week highs

Siyaram Silk Mills jumped 6 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 344 on the BSE

Shares of textiles companies were in demand in an otherwise subdued market, with Vardhman Textiles, Siyaram Silk Mills, RSWM and Dollar Industries hitting their respective 52-week highs on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday amid expectations of earnings improvement.

The Union Budget 2020-21 had set the momentum to give the ailing textile sector a new lease of life by announcing the setting up of mega textile parks, increasing duties on import of textile products, and rationalising the custom duty rates on imports of raw materials, allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investments (FDI) for the sector under the automatic route, assisting in the development of import substitution products and continuing of other schemes for the industry. All this will provide the required impetus to the textile sector and help on the path of speedy recovery.

“Global apparel market shrunk by 22 per cent, coming down from $ 1,635 billion in 2019 to $ 1,280 billion in 2020. The consumption is expected to reach to pre-Covid levels over the next couple of years and then retrace its growth path to reach $2,007 billion by 2025,” Wazir Advisors said in Indian Textile and Apparel Industry annual report 2021.

Among individual stocks, Siyaram Silk Mills rose 6 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 344, up 11 per cent in the past two trading days. In financial year 2020-21 (FY21), Siyaram re-engineered its cost structure with significant rationalisation of overheads including marketing spends. Operating overheads declined 42 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY21. Going forward, the management expects 25 per cent of cost savings to be sustainable in nature.

"Though we expect working capital debt to increase in FY22E on account of recovery in sales, it would still be at reasonable levels (D/E: 0.3x in FY22E vs. 0.9x in FY18). Enhanced capital efficiency (low leverage and controlled working capital cycle) and better profitability would result in Siyaram reporting healthy RoCE of around 17 per cent by FY23E," analysts at ICICI Securities had said in the March quarter results update.

Vardhman Textiles (VTL) too hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,495.65, up 4.4 per cent today. The scrip has rallied 10 per cent in the past two sessions. Sustained improvement in yarn spreads and consequent improvement in margins would enable VTL to improve its financial performance, going ahead, said ICICI Securities. It further expects VTL to capitalise on the emerging demand scenario owing to its strong balance sheet and long-standing relationship with marquee clients.