Mirc claims it's the No. 2 CTV maker

Homegrown consumer durables major Mirc Electronics claimed that it had become the second largest CTV maker in the country after LG since October 2004, clocking higher sales than rivals Samsung and Videocon.

Mirc's claim means that the pecking order in the CTV market has changed after a gap of nearly five years.

"We have consistently posted higher CTV volumes than our competitors since October last year with the average monthly sales in excess of 150,000 units," said V Chandramouli, vice-president (sales and marketing), Mirc Electronics.

The company's sales during the third quarter ended December 31, 2004 increased nearly 25 per cent to Rs 385 crore, compared to the same period last year.

According to Chandramouli, increase in sales is largely due to the company's new multi brand strategy. Last year the company introduced a new entry level television brand Igo and positioned Onida as a premium brand.

But despite the growth in volumes, Mirc's net profit dipped by 27 per cent during Q3 to Rs 10.3 crore. The company's net profit has declined for the second consecutive quarter.

"Fall in margins is an industrywide phenomenon as the cost of raw materials shot up and we were not able to hike prices due to the cut-throat competition. We had also invested more in advertising and promotion to push sales during the festival season. But the situation should improve in the current quarter as most companies have pushed up prices post the festive season," he added.

The CTV market in India is led by LG which is estimated to have a quarter of the market, followed by Onida at 16 per cent and Samsung at 15 per cent. But according to executives at Samsung, the company still retained the second spot in terms of value.

"Samsung's focus is on high-end products where volumes could be lower. Onida's sales might have risen due to the introduction of low-priced models," a Samsung official said.