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The unbranded PC segment shrunk to 34 per cent in H1 from 44 per cent last year.

New Delhi , Jan 5

FUELLED by strong consumption in telecom, banking and financial services, retail and BPO sectors and an increased adoption in smaller towns on the back of declining prices, PC sales registered a 36.2 per cent growth in the first six months of the current financial year (April-September), with vendors selling 2.34 million units. The industry has also revised upwards the sales projections for the full financial year to 4.7 million units against 4.25 million units estimated earlier.

However, the H1 growth of 36.2 per cent is marginally lower than 36.6 per cent witnessed in the same period the previous year, although hardware association, the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) claims that this was due to the widening of the PC base.

Another noticeable trend has been a marginal de-growth in the home segment during the first half of FY06, a phenomenon MAIT attributes to lack of contextual offerings for PC buyers, in areas such as education and entertainment. "Compared year-on-year, the consumer market has taken a beating. There has been a slowdown in the consumer durables segment and that has reflected here too. Also low-cost PCs can push sales to a point and beyond that there is a need for value offerings, in terms of relevant content and local language interface," MAIT's Executive Director, Mr Vinnie Mehta, said while releasing the Industry Performance Review conducted jointly by IMRB.

According to MAIT, the de-growth in the consumer category was not a matter for concern as the rush of low-cost PC and broadband products coupled with easy loans by SBI, would see the market accelerating in the coming months.

The sub-Rs 10,000 PCs, which made a debut in H1, are clocking average sales of about 8,000 units per month. "Although the low-cost PCs created an excitement in the market, their contribution during the first half ended September 2005 will be really small, as these offerings were launched only in August," he said.

Indian brands grow

Interestingly, even as the unbranded PC segment shrunk to 34 per cent in H1 from 44 per cent last year, it was the Indian players who were seen cannibalising the grey market with their aggressive pricing strategy and reach in smaller cities and towns. The share of Indian brands grew to 31 per cent (23 per cent) while MNC brands accounted for 35 per cent (33 per cent) of the total market.

Notebook shipments touched 1.53 lakh units between April and September 2005 compared to 79,230 units in the same period previous year. "Notebook sales recorded a high growth of 94 per cent and also found their way into homes. In the first half of 2005-06, about 16,000 notebooks were sold to the household segment accounting for 13 per cent of the total market," MAIT added.

Printer sales grew by 43 per cent in H1 with record sales in laser printer category, which witnessed a growth of 159 per cent. The growth projection for FY 2005-06 for overall printer sales is 39 per cent; sales are expected to cross 1.63 million units. MAIT said.

3.17 m Internet users

The number of active Internet subscribers (entities) increased to 3.17 million in September 2005, compared to 2.92 million in March 2005. The penetration of Internet in the top 22 cities amongst businesses was 48 per cent while that in households was 15 per cent. "

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