More Stories

Informist, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--Blue Star: Prospects of US business dependent on India-US deal 
--CONTEXT: Blue Star management in post-earnings call with analysts 
--Blue Star: To revise price upwards in Q4 FY26 
--Blue Star: Price revision on back of high commodity prices 
--Blue Star: Exchange rate, new energy norms also pushing up prices 
--Blue Star: Price hike not an option, has to be taken 
--Blue Star: Net price increase for customers likely to be around 10% 
--Blue Star: Hope AC, refrigerant sales to pick up Feb onwards 
--Blue Star: Commercial AC business muted in FY26 
--Blue Star: Industry inventory level at 8-10 weeks, co stocks at 5-6 wk 
--Blue Star: See Q4 margin improving to 8.5%, FY27 can grow to 9%

 

By Afra Abubacker and Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – Blue Star Ltd. will raise the prices of its room air conditioners and other unitary products in the March quarter as rising raw material costs, rupee depreciation, and higher production costs under new energy-efficiency norms make cost absorption unviable. The company expects the net price increase to be around 10% for customers, after passing on the recent goods and services tax cuts, the management told analysts in a post-earnings call.

 

"All this put together will result, in my estimation, somewhere around at least 10% of net increase to the consumer," a top management official said. This is contrary to consumer expectations of lower prices following the GST cuts. "Therefore, we will need much more discipline (in pricing) going forward in Q4 and in the summer season itself."

 

However, the company stressed that price increases are inevitable amid higher production costs. Blue Star estimated that changes in energy-rating norms under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency's star labels, implemented from January, have pushed production costs up 5-8?ross models, while inflation in prices of key commodities, including copper, and rupee depreciation have further raised input costs. 

 

After a seasonally muted December quarter, the company expects demand for air conditioners and refrigeration products to pick up from February as inventories normalise and the summer approaches. "In January, there would have been enough inventory that the brands would have pushed into the channel. I do not see January as a great month. It should pick up in February," the management official said.

 

The management estimates industry inventories at 8-10 weeks while pegging the company's own stocks lower, at around 5-6 weeks. "But I wouldn't consider inventory as a great bottleneck for February-March," the official added. "The one and only event that we should be watching out for is the onset of summer. If the summer sets in, there is nothing to worry about."

 

The company expects margins in its unitary cooling products segment to improve to around 8.5% in the March quarter and said they could rise further to around 9% in the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) if the summer season turns out to be "strong". The company said cost optimisation, pricing discipline, and a recovery in demand are expected to drive margin expansion after a challenging first nine months in FY26.

 

The company's consolidated net profit for the December quarter fell over 39% on year and nearly 19% sequentially to INR 806.60 million. For the nine months ended Dec. 31, its consolidated net profit fell more than 24% to INR 3.01 billion while revenue for the period rose nearly 5% on year to INR 83.30 billion. The company released its earnings after market hours Thursday.

 

The company said its commercial air-conditioning business has remained muted through FY26 and it anticipates demand for unitary cooling products to be revived meaningfully only during the upcoming summer season. The medical technology solutions business has slowed down as uncertainties around the regulatory policy framework are yet to be resolved. "However, industrial solutions continue to grow, driven by strong demand in the automotive and steel industries, and data security solutions maintain steady performance," it added. 

 

Blue Star has reappointed B. Thiagarajan as managing director for a further term from April 2026 through May 2027, and appointed Mohit Sud as executive director for its unitary cooling products business from April. The company has appointed M.S. Unnikrishnan as an independent director for five years, effective Thursday, upon advertising guru Sam Balsara's retirement. Friday, Blue Star shares closed nearly 5% higher at INR 1,816.9 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.