India’s Bajaj Electricals reported its third straight quarterly profit decline on Monday, as rising inflation impacted seasonal spending and rural demand remained weak.
Consolidated net profit fell nearly 40 per cent to 373.6 million rupees ($4.5 million) in the three months ending 31 December, after falling 56 per cent and 14 per cent in the previous two quarters.
In India, the festival season normally lasts from October to December, when customers regularly indulge on non-discretionary merchandise. However, demand was muted in the most recent quarter due to high inflation, which limited spending on non-essential products in both rural and urban regions, according to experts.
While Voltas and Blue Star profited from higher-than-usual demand for air coolers and fans in the quarter, Havells suffered from sluggish sales of other household appliances.
Bajaj Electricals’ overall sales declined 6.2 per cent to 12.28 billion rupees, its third consecutive quarter of contraction.
Consumer product sales, which accounted for roughly 80 per cent of total revenue, fell 8 per cent, while lighting product sales climbed by only 1 per cent. The company’s input expenses grew by 4.8 per cent to 1.24 billion rupees.
