The Hindu : PC sales cross one million in H1

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004

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Business

PC sales cross one million in H1

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE JAN. 6. The Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT), representing most computer and other IT related hardware makers, has increased its forecast for PC sales growth to 30 per cent in 2003-04.

The revision, from the earlier forecast of 20 per cent, was made following buoyant desktop sales in the first half of the current year, MAIT said in a release. In its "Industry performance review for the first-half of 2003-04'' MAIT said the desktop PC market grossed 12.58 lakh units, registering a growth of 32 per cent over the same period in the previous year.

This was the first time ever that sales in the first half had crossed the one million mark. Figures for the full year would be some 2.3 million, the release said.

The turnaround was driven by increased consumption by industry verticals such as telecom, banking and financial services and IT-enabled services in the private sector, and large buys from various governments, the release said.

Falling prices also encouraged the small and medium segment to buy more computers and IT hardware, the release said. The trend of increased PC purchase in smaller towns and cities, witnessed last year, continued. Entry-level prices of PCs had dropped to Rs. 20,000, for Notebooks to Rs. 50,000 and servers to sub-Rs.1 lakh. Price drops were also witnessed for inkjet and laser printers, the release said.

The Indian Market Research Bureau conducts MAIT's twice a year review. The exercise, first started in 1996-97, focused on computers, networking products, printers, other peripherals and Internet, the release said.

`Assembled' PCs accounted for 57 per cent of the PC sales in the first half of 2003-04, up from 48 per cent for the same period last year.

Indian brands accounted for 20 per cent of the market as against their 22 per cent share in H1 2002-03.

Although the proportion of the Indian brands declined, the absolute consumption grew by 20 per cent. The MNC brands registered a fall in their market share from 30 per cent in the first half of 2002-03 to 23 per cent, whereas sales grew by one per cent.

PC sales to the business segment improved by 20 per cent, accounting for 74 per cent of the total PC consumption. Households bought 88 per cent more PCs compared to first-half of last year.

They mostly bought assembled PCs. The consumption in home-offices also grew by 97 per cent.

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