Apex Footwear, the leading footwear exporter and seller in the domestic market, yesterday said its profits fell in the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24 as falling exports affected revenue.

The footwear maker's earnings dropped 29 percent year-on-year from Tk 3.15 crore to Tk 2.23 crore in the first quarter of this financial year, Apex Footwear said in unaudited financial statements published yesterday.

Its sales revenue dropped 17 percent year-on-year to Tk 351.14 crore in July-September of the 2023-24 financial year from Tk 424.68 crore.

"The main reason is that our exports declined although our domestic sales are okay. We have had moderate growth," said Md Omar Faruque, company secretary.

Bangladesh's leather footwear exports plunged 36 percent year-on-year to $165 million in the July-October period of the current fiscal year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.

Apex Footwear shares fell 7.04 percent to Tk 262.6 each yesterday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

The footwear maker, which posted increased profits at Tk 16.7 crore in the financial year 2022-23, said its cost of raw materials fell at a higher rate than the decline in overall sales during the period.

The company added that net sales revenue decreased compared to the same period last year and it was not possible to offset that through cost control measures.

As a result, profit before tax during the quarter also fell compared to the same period last year and higher income tax expenses reduced profit after tax, which was reflected in its Earnings Per Share (EPS).

Apex Footwear's EPS dropped to Tk 1.72 in the July-September 2023 from Tk 2.43 in the same period a year ago.