Summer stocks 2025: 2 stocks may gain on rising AC, refrigerator, cooler demand

 Summer demand for air conditioners (ACs) are likely to pick up from March onwards, with dealers aggressively stocking inventory to avoid the stock-out situation that was seen last year, BNP Paribas India said in its latest report on consumer durables sector. Havells India Ltd and Voltas Ltd are its two top picks from the consumer durables sector.

The brokerage noted that no price hikes had been reported sequentially for new AC models launched so far, though dealers expect demand-led price hikes to follow. Despite the ongoing supply chain issue in ACs, especially in case of compressors, dealers have not yet seen any shortage, aided by advanced planning, BNP Paribas said.

"While no sequential price hikes were announced yet for new models, dealers await demand-led price hikes in coming months. We will watch out for price actions, trade discounts and A&P spends this summer," it said.

For refrigerators and washing machines, demand remained tepid so far, holding back price hikes. As concerns regarding the high industry base last year and margin pressure seem largely priced

Demand for fans picked up, especially in South India after remaining muted over the  past two months. Dealers expect a strong summer for fans and air coolers and await price hikes  closer to the season, BNP Paribas India said. The lighting segment again saw price erosion of 3-4 per cent in February, making  dealers a bit hesitant, hurting primary sales, it noted.

The brokerage said the infrastructure-led demand is yet to pick up fully for cables and wires (C&W), though the channel has restocked in February 2025, amid the rally in copper prices and 2-3 per cent price hikes taken across brands. Among branded players, Finolex and Polycab remained top preferences for consumers, BNP Paribas said.

Net-net, the brokerage sees 10-36 per cent upside on six stocks. They include Whirlpool of India (target: Rs 1,310, 36 per cent upside), Crompton (target: Rs 435, 32 per cent upside), Orient Electric (target: Rs 275, 30 per cent upside), Havells India (target: Rs 1,950, 28 per cent upside), Voltas (target: Rs 1,580, 24 per cent upside) and Polycab (target: Rs 6,405, 10 per cent upside).