Redington may see higher growth on non-IT business backed by iPhone 7 growth

Redington (India) Ltd, one of the four distributors of Apple products in the country, may see its non-IT business in the third quarter of the year post a better growth in India, owing to the higher demand of Apple's iPhone7 and iPhone 7 plus, provided the country gets adequate allocation of the phone from the global electronics major.

The supply of the phone is lesser than the demand globally and the growth of the non-IT business of Redington, which includes distribution of several mobile phone handset brands, will depend on how much Apple can allocate to India, said senior management officials from the company.

The company is bullish in terms of growth during the quarter compared to what it was the last year, said Raj Shankar, managing director of Redington (India) Ltd.

According to analysts, during the third quarter of last year the non-IT business of Redington grew around 18% sequentially and this year, the growth is expected to be higher than that considering the higher demand of the new models of iPhone.

Shankar, in an earnings call after the second quarter results announced, said that if the company get enough products to meet the demand, it is possible to achieve more growth.

The response for iPhone 7 and specifically iPhone 7 Plus has been far better than anticipated, but there are supply constrains. The sales growth depends on how much India gets as allocation from the global production, he added.

The quarter starting October, which is the first quarter of Apple's financial year, tends to be the best quarter. In tune with this, the non-IT business of Redington has posted an 8% growth during the July to September quarter of the year. However, outside India, the company has posted a growth of 141% in non-IT segment, largely on the back of the Apple contract it received for iPhone in UAE, which was not the same in the comparable period last year.