PC sales cross 8 lakh units in Q3: MAIT

The Desktop PC market grossed over 8 lakh units, an 87% year-on-growth over the same quarter in the last fiscal. This is a sequential growth of 31% over the previous JAS quarter. This was revealed by MAIT in its Industry Performance Review for the Third Quarter of FY2003-04. 

With increased sales throughout the year and also, traditionally, the last quarter accounting for maximum sales, the industry is expected to comfortably cross the three million mark in PC sales. 

The buoyancy in PC sales can be attributed to increased consumption by traditional industry verticals such as telecom, BFSI, ITES and manufacturing as well as non-traditional sectors like education, retail outlets and self-employed professionals.

However, consumption in the government segment was subdued, which is expected to gain momentum in Q4. 

The significant consumption in the SME and in the home market, which are highly price sensitive segments, can easily be attributed positively to the drop in prices, especially at the entry-level. Hence the trend of increased PC purchase in smaller towns and cities, witnessed last year, continues undiminished.

Locally manufactured unbranded PCs accounted for 55% of sales in Q3, 2003-04. Indian brands accounted for 15% of the market, while MNC brands accounted for the rest 30%.

The break-up of the market size indicates that the top 4 cities still account for PC consumption. But the trend of smaller towns registering higher growth appears to continue during the third quarter as well. 

Replacement demand in PCs has also contributed to enhance of growth in this market. New technology and new features, application better suited to run on latest machines combined with aggressive pricing are driving the replacement market.

Notebook market in OND witnessed a 105% growth over JAS, scaling 29,000 units. This was led by drop in notebook prices. The corporate has always been the major target segment for the notebooks, but, with the reduction in prices of notebooks and their prices matching those of the Desktop PCs in many cases, notebooks are also finding place in the household.

Commenting on the findings of the study, Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, MAIT says, "The reduction in excise duty on computers to 8% from 16% and the subsequent abolishing of the same on microprocessors, hard-disk drives, floppy-disk drives and CD-Rom drives has helped the industry reduce prices of computers, the impact of which will be perceptible in the fourth quarter and even more pronounced in the next fiscal."

"We are confident that in the fiscal 2003-04 we will comfortably cross three million units, a growth of 30% over fiscal 2002-03. The growth projection for the ensuing 2004-05 is healthy, and this may become still better by another 5% to 10% should the government reduce excise duty to 8% and increase depreciation to 100% on all IT products," he adds. 

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