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• The power companies may be sweating, but the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and inverter makers are excited as power cuts have become a regular affair, even in the largely power-surplus South.The makers of batteries, a key component of UPS and inverter systems, too, are equally elated as the segment is seen recording 15-20% growth over the last year.The organised UPS and inverter industry has also got a boost with the import of lead and lead products from countries such as China becoming difficult following the imposition of duties on them.

• “As long as lead products were easily imported, the market was in the hands of the unorganised sector. Now, with imports becoming expensive, the Indian battery makers are seeing a surge in demand,” an industry source said.The Indian UPS and inverter market is estimated to be $3-3.5 billion.Exide Industries and Amara Raja are the two key players seen benefiting from the power cuts. Though Amara Raja officials were not available for a comment, a source tracking the developments said, “Amara Raja is emerging as a market leader in the UPS and inverter segment with about 33% market share. The IT/ITeS and small office-home office segments are largely contributing to the growth apart from the demand for inverters from homes.”

• UPS and inverter makers see a surge in demand during the first quarter of every fiscal. Industry sources, however, said this time there was significant demand in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal as well.“The demand is mostly coming from the southern markets including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with the power supplies going off track there. So the inverter sales are expected to be 25-30% more than the last season,” the source said.

• “We are ready with the product called Chloride and have carried out pilot launch in different parts of the country,” Exide’s director automotive, P K Katakay told DNA.Chloride is an old brand name owned by Exide; the company was known as Chloride Industries before it was changed name in 1995.

• “We are suddenly seeing a surge in the demand for inverters, particularly in southern states like Tamil Nadu where the power situation is really grim. We can’t even cope with the demand, which is unusually high at this time of the year,” Katakay said.“Selling our existing inverter batteries along with inverters will give a better pricing power for our inverter batteries as we would be able to sell batteries as well as inverters as a single product,” another Exide official said.

• “Exide has always been a premium player in the battery segment. However, the company is bringing down the premium on its batteries for the past one year to defend its market share from Amara Raja. The automotive battery segment is slowing down, but both players will have a good summer with demand for inverters going up. Fiscal 2013 will be a good year for battery replacement market as customers change batteries every three years,” said Vineet Hetamasaria, research head, PINC Research.

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