NEW DELHI, July 1: The sweltering heat may be making life difficult for others, but airconditioner manufacturers are quietly smiling with sales growing at double-digit rate in the last couple of months.
AC makers like LG, Haier and Samsung said the extreme heat in the Northern and Eastern regions have led to brisk sales of their products.
“In the April-June quarter, our sales grew by 20 per cent, mostly driven by the North and East markets, and a bit from South. During the period, market has done much better in the North and East,” LG India Business Sales Head (Air Conditioners) Saurabh Baisakhia told.
Had it not been for the pick up in sales in May and June, it would have been yet another disappointing year, he added.
Last year, AC sales were affected due to delayed summer.
Baisakhia, however, said the industry-wide growth is likely to remain flat during this year.
“The overall industry growth for the year, however, looks to be flat. In 2011, the market witnessed sales of 3.1 million units and it is likely that the numbers will remain the same this year too,” he said, adding delayed summer, volatile rupee and weak sentiments are all playing a part in weak demand.
Besides, Baisakhia said the company has raised the prices of all its models by five per cent from this month.
Another AC maker Haier said the company has witnessed double-digit growth so far in this year and is expecting to out-perform the industry.
“In the first half of this year, our AC and refrigerator sales have increased by about 13-15 per cent. We are expecting our overall sales growth for the entire year to be more than the industry rate,” Haier Appliances (India) President Eric Braganza said.
Expressing similar sentiments, Samsung India said its sales have increased during the last three months.
“The AC market has picked up in quarter 2 over quarter 1 this year,” Samsung India Vice President (Home Appliances) Mahesh Krishnan said.
Companies such Panasonic and Haier had stated recently that they would raise prices of their products by up to five per cent, mainly due to the severe impact of depreciation of rupee.
Other players like Sony, Whirlpool and Fujifilm also said they were considering various options to tackle the adverse currency fluctuation situation that was making import of components very expensive. (PTI)
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