Mirc shuts DVD business

Company says its focus will be on air-conditioners, flat panel TVs, washing machines and mobile phones

As part of its restructuring plan, Mirc Electronics Ltd, which owns the brand Onida, closed its DVD business last month due to poor demand, and by next year it would exit from CRT TV manufacturing, according to its chairman and managing director Gulu Mirchandani.

The company said its focus would be on air-conditioners, flat panel TVs, washing machines and mobile phones.

The CRT TV segment, which contributes around Rs 300 crore, would be compensated by the flat panel televisions over the next two years, said Mirchandani, who was here on Monday to launch a new range of air-conditioners.

"Air conditioners and flat panel TVs will be the drivers, since the company's failure rates are very less," he added.
 

The current market for flat panel televisions is 5-6 million units in India, according to him, and the company claims it has a market share of around six per cent. Washing machines and microwave showed a 4-5 per cent decline mainly due to high prices.

"I am confident things would improve, considering penetration is low. At present, the sentiment is bad, but things would improve after the elections next year".

To boost the mobile phone business, the company had set up a new management, which has been given a target of Rs 300-400 crore business in the segment compared with the current Rs 150 crore.

The company, which clocked a revenue of around Rs 1,250 crore in 2012-13, has set a target to close the current fiscal with Rs 1,450-1,500 crore. Mirchandani said, "The current policy needs dramatic change as it does not support electronics manufacturing in India. We are sending the sector (manufacturing of electronic items) to countries like Thailand and China".

Quoting the car industry as an example, he said the government should look at giving incentives and tax sops to boost the industry.

The company has also decided to put its Rs 400 crore investment plan on hold at Aurangabad, Maharashtra, stating the "current policies are not conducive".