MUMBAI: Rating agency Icra has assigned negative outlook to the Indian footwear sector due to weak consumer sentiment and continuing slowdown in Europe "In FY2016 and first quarter of FY2017, footwear export companies witnessed pressure on their volumes leading to a decline in turnover and weakening of profit margins. "The Indian companies have been trying to increase exports to other continents, especially the USA , but there has been limited success till date. "Weak macroeconomic environment in the European markets has put pressure on revenues and profitability of the Indian footwear exporters as they continue to have almost 70 per cent exposure to such markets. Our interactions with the management of leading footwear export companies suggest that there has been contraction in export orders by around 25 per cent in the recent quarters," Icra Vice-President Shubham Jain said. "This is likely to impact the financials of footwear export companies in the short to medium term.

Source: Economic Times November 06, 2016 07:06 UTC