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We hosted several companies across the consumer durables space at our flagship investor conference – “JM Financial India Xchange 2025.” These included Blue Star, Havells, LG Electronics, PG Electroplast, Polycab, KEI Industries and R R Kabel. Below, we summarise key takeaways from the meetings we attended.

* Blue Star – placed better than the industry at large: Blue Star is targeting 15% market share amid intensifying competition, while seeing a smooth transition to new BEE norms supported by the GST cut. Channel inventory remains slightly higher at ~65 days, vs. normalised levels of ~35 days, pegging it better than the broader industry. It also indicated that 2H should be better than 1H. However, it is not very certain if it will make up for the shortfall of 1H. Best-case scenario is industry and Blue Star seeing a flat FY26E (vs. earlier guidance of +5%), while the worst-case scenario is of 15% YoY contraction in the industry. Further, the management indicated that selfsufficiency in compressor manufacturing is 3-5 years away, and here, the ability to match China’s costing will be a key determinant.

* Havells – optimistic of the upcoming season: Havells reiterated its intent to enter the summer season well stocked for Lloyd and maintained an optimistic stance despite caution over working capital. Lloyd RAC inventory remains elevated across brand and channel, though conditions have improved since Jun’25 and Sep’25, with restocking expected from Dec’25. In the C&W business, it foresees strong cables of ~20% growth and sustained double-digit growth in wires over the next 2 years.

* LG Electronics – massive plans ahead: LG highlighted its leadership in offline RAC value market share; its share is higher than Voltas by 1.1%, with annual RAC sales of 1.9mn units and in-house compressor capacity of 1mn units. The company has launched its LG Essentials line to target the mass-premium segment by introducing mid-tier SKUs. It also reiterated its focus on exports, which should ramp up from 5–6% of revenue to double digits, supported by the LG HQ designating India as a global manufacturing base. LG has planned INR 50bn of capex over the coming years, initially toward ACs and compressors and subsequently toward washing machines and refrigerators, with asset turns of 2–2.5x.

* PG Electroplast – improving trends: PGEL indicated improving demand trends with a resilient Oct’25 and strong orders through Nov’25 and Dec’25, supporting a strong 2H. Raw material inventory is expected to normalise to ~1 month by November-end. Production under old rating norms will cease by 15th Dec’25, post which the focus will shift to newer rated products. The company targets refrigerator production by 4QFY27, while washing machines continue to scale with ~40% growth in 1H and expectation of 30-35% growth in FY27E. FY26 margins may compress 100-120bps YoY with a 2H recovery. Lastly, there is no new update in the compressor JV; the building is ready and production could start within 9 months of approvals.

* Polycab – strong growth to continue: Polycab’s C&W business saw strong growth driven by continuing demand momentum from both government and private sectors, further aided by rising copper prices For C&W, a margin profile similar to 1H is expected in 2H as well. While A&P spends will see an uptick, operating leverage benefits (2H generally better than 1H) should help. Further, it also highlighted a massive opportunity in data centres, with 1MW of data centre capacities requiring cables to the tune of INR 35mn; 50% of this is power cables and the rest is optical fibre cables, and Polycab possesses capacities for both.

* KEI Industries – capacity expansion now on track: INR 20bn capex at Sanand will help drive revenue of INR 60bn. Out of that, by Dec’25 (around 7th December), ~INR 30bn of revenue capacities will go live, and 4Q will see a full impact. In FY27, the company expects the new Sanand facility to drive revenue of INR 25bn. Generally asset turns are 4x; however, given EHV will be included here, asset turns will be limited to 3x. Within EHV, KEI will be manufacturing 400KV cables as well, peers will be restricted to 220KV. This should help drive the guided ~20% growth in revenue over the medium term, with a minor improvement in margin from current levels, driven by operating leverage benefits and an improved product mix.

* RR Kabel – confident of achieving guidance: RR Kabel plans INR 12bn of capex over FY26–28, largely toward cables, supporting a shift toward higher MV/HV mix and enabling ~18% volume growth over 3 years, including FY26E (vs. 12% in 1H) with stronger 3Q/4Q aiding full-year guidance. W&C EBIT margins are expected to improve from 7.5% to 10% over 3 years (8.5% guided for FY26), driven by operating leverage and a richer product mix. Current capacity utilisation stands at ~70% in wires and ~90% in cables.

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