Panasonic sees India revenue top Rs 10,000 crore in FY18

NEW DELHI: Japanese appliances and industrial major Panasonic clocked a revenue of over Rs 10,000 crore in India last fiscal, and expects a double-digit growth rate this year on the back of healthy monsoon forecast and positive momentum in the economy.

Rising rupee, however, remains a concern as consumer prices may go up, impacting demand, says Manish Sharma, president and CEO of the company. Panasonic will invest over Rs 500 crore in India this year, while also upgrading and modernising its product portfolio, with a large focus on growing TV market and enterprise business. “We will be forced to increase prices if rupee depreciates further. The categories that can be impacted include TV panels — where higher input prices have been absorbed so far.”

Sales of consumer electronics and durables are likely to grow three times faster this fiscal when compared to the previous year as healthy monsoon and rising consumption across smaller towns and cities will give a fillip to demand. “The growth last year was about 3-5%. We expect this year growth will be between 10% and 12%, supported by healthy rains and momentum in GDP.”

“Nearly 80% of our revenue comes from consumer products such as TVs, washing machines, ACs, refrigerators and other appliances, while the remaining is derived from B2B (business-to-business) operations,” Sharma said.