Unseasonal rains in April and May have hurt sales of summer products, forcing companies to cut back on production and revise growth targets for the June quarter. Makers of air conditioners, for instance, have indicated that sales are down 20-25% in April-May compared to last year, while ice cream, beverage and talcum powder makers have pointed to a year-on-year sales decline of 15-20%.
“Sales in the southern, western, and eastern parts of the country have taken a hit due to unseasonal rainfall. The sales drop is in the region of 20-25% when compared to the same period last year (April-May). The northern and central regions, meanwhile, are going strong,” Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice-president, Godrej Appliances, said.
The southern, western and eastern regions contribute to 60% of AC sales for companies, while the northern and central regions make up the remaining 40%, sector experts said. The summer season as a whole contributes to around 50-60% of sales for AC companies, with inclement weather hurting sales targets for the quarter as well as the full year.
“January, February and March were good months, but as the season moved into summer (April-May), there have been unseasonal rains and thunderstorms in parts of the country. This has brought down consumer sentiment,” Pradeep Bakshi, MD & CEO, Voltas, said.
NS Satish, president of Haier Appliances, said that AC companies had begun curbing production from April, when intermittent rains pushed mercury levels down in some parts of the country.
“There is an inventory build-up of about 10-15% in the industry which is likely to get exhausted by the second quarter of the fiscal (FY26),” he said.
Not just AC makers, companies producing beverages and ice creams have also been affected by unseasonal rains. Mohit Malhotra, CEO of Dabur India, which makes the Real brand of fruit juices, said that sales were weak in April-May because of unseasonal rains.
“Out-of-home consumption tends to suffer when there are rain spells in the peak of summer. So categories that ride the summer season including beverages, ice creams, talcum powder will take a hit. We do not expect the June quarter to be strong from a beverage sales perspective due to the unseasonal rains,” he said.
RS Sodhi, president of the Indian Dairy Association, an apex body of dairy companies in the country, said that members had reported at least a 15-20% sales drop in April-May because of rains. Most dairy companies sell ice creams and beverages such as lassi and chaas during the summer season.
“Growth projections for the summer season this year were strong at 30-40% after a bumper season last year, when ice creams and beverages did well. Most dairy firms will have to revise their targets down by at least 15-20% this year after unseasonal rains in the summer,” Sodhi said.
Distributors of top beverage brands say that demand has taken a hit in April and May by at least 15% as the weather stayed cool on most days. Falling sales have resulted in a surge in unsold stocks, they added.
Mohan Goenka, vice-chairman and whole-time director of Emami, said that unseasonal rains had hurt demand for its summer products such as talcum powder. “Summer has not gone down well (for the segment),” he added.
