Panasonic's India arm aims for over 10% growth in FY26 on strong AC sale

The company witnessed a record 30 per cent sales growth in consumer appliances in the ongoing summer season, primarily led by the sale of air conditioners

Panasonic Life Solutions India is aiming to clock in double-digit growth in financial year 2026 on the back of strong performance of air conditioners, electrical devices, and B2B verticals, even as it expects revenue from FY25 to reach Rs 11,500 crore, with a forecasted 41 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 1,110 crore over FY24.

  The company witnessed a record 30 per cent sales growth in consumer appliances in the ongoing summer season, primarily led by sale of air conditioners, which saw a 47 per cent volume growth over the last year.

  Consumer appliances contribute about 30 per cent to the business, while the B2B vertical – like smart factory solutions, industrial devices, batteries among others – makes up 20 per cent.

 

  “I expect a similar growth trend in the ongoing year, especially when it comes to air conditioners. The device has a very low penetration rate, giving ample headroom for growth in the coming few years. It is also becoming a necessity keeping the weather trends in mind,” said Manish Sharma, chairman, Panasonic Life Solutions, India. 

He was speaking to reporters here during the launch of the company's first smart home experience centre.

 

Sharma noted that the ongoing tariff changes by the US on world markets provided India an opportunity to emerge as a manufacturing hub for exports and improve its supply chain efficiencies.

 

“While the specifics still evolve and negotiations continue, and there is no immediate near-term impact, it is a good opportunity for companies to rapidly scale up backward integration and localise their value chains. Moreover, PLIs have come in at the right time, and the geopolitical situations are making countries like Taiwan want to move their supply chains out of China — one of which can be India,” said Sharma.

 

He referred to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electronics manufacturing.

 

“India should offer manufacturing clusters that allow for ease of doing business, which will offer comfort to smaller and medium-level enterprises looking to shift out their supply chains from China. It is also important for the industry to aggregate demand, even if exports are impacted for the short term,” he added.

 

Panasonic is also among the list of companies that had applied for the third round of the PLI for white goods, which includes air conditioners and LED lights.

 

Sharma said that the latest PLI will help the company because it will benefit its partners. “The earlier white goods PLI helped us in two ways — because we participated and it helped our partners, and they passed on some of the benefits to us,” he noted.