Air-conditioning major Blue Star Ltd. is aiming at capturing a 15% market share in the room air-conditioner (RAC) market by selling 13 lakh units in FY25, a top official said.
“Last year, we sold 8 lakh RACs and this year, we are hopeful of touching 10 lakh units due to the harsh summer. Next year, we are planning to sell 13 lakh units,” Managing Director B. Thiagarajan told the media.
The company’s Himachal plant produces 6 lakh units, Sri City 3 lakh while one lakh units are outsourced. Next year, both HP and Sri City will account for 12 lakh units while one lakh will be outsourced, he said.
According to him, the company had a market share of 13.75% in RAC and it would like to achieve 15% during the next fiscal.
Talking about the production capacity, he said that the existing plant was operating at full capacity, while capacity additions are being done on a regular basis at the newly formed Sri City facility since January 2023.
“Sri City is a new plant and is going to be the largest manufacturing hub. We have added six lakh units and another six lakh units will be added in the next two years. Thereafter, we will think about putting a new plant and have 40 acresof land ready there,” he said.
Having raised ₹1,000 crore last year through QIB, he said that they would be investing ₹300 crore in FY25 in the new plant (₹200 crore), advertisement ₹60 crore and rest on R&D and supply chain.
Going forward, he said that they would be focusing on Tier-2, 3 and 4 cities as they are going to be the growth drivers. Major and mini metros contribute 65% of sales and rest will come from first time buyers as well as from the replacement market.
On Monday, Blue Star introduced more than 100 affordable and premium models of RAC aimed at the forthcoming summer season.
“The market for RAC is at inflection point and is poised to grow exponentially over the next few years. This represents a huge opportunity for us. With the formidable launch of new products, we will grow faster than the market,” he said.
On a consolidated level, the company posted revenue of ₹7,997 crore last year and this year, it might touch ₹10,000 crore, he said.
