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T Panasonic Gobel Indonesia, one of the country's major electronics manufacturers, owes its positive April-June results to the sales of its air-conditioning unit lineup.

Panasonic Gobel, a subsidiary of Japan's largest home appliance maker, booked a 6 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in sales in that period, with air-conditioning units contributing 39 percent to the total business.

'As of June, the sales of Panasonic air-conditioners in Indonesia increased by 18 percent,' president director Hiroyoshi Suga told a press briefing on Monday.

Suga said the achievements in the first quarter of Japan's fiscal year ' which starts in April ' brought Indonesia into the top three countries with the best sales in Asia Pacific, alongside Malaysia.

Suga said he was happy that the company was able to grow amid unstable economic conditions caused by the depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar, which pushed up prices.

Despite these difficult circumstances, he said Indonesia remained a promising and growing market for the business.

In addition to the air-conditioning market, Suga revealed that sales of the company's LED TVs had also grown significantly, citing 74 percent growth from last year, followed by beauty products with 44 percent and system solutions with 20 percent.

As part of its plans to expand its business strategy, Suga said his company would focus on offering value-added products, such as the premium television line, as well as low-watt electric appliances for those in need of energy-efficient technology.

Aside from sales to individual customers, Panasonic continued to tap into the huge market potential of the business and government sectors, selling electronics products such as integrated security surveillance systems, large room air conditioners and office solutions, Suga said.

Even with the strategy shift, Panasonic's vice president director Rinaldi Sjarif said sales to business entities now contributed 4 to 5 percent of total sales, lower than the 8 percent target he forecasted
in April.

He said the company would continue to play its strong suit, pushing the sales of its air-conditioning line until the end of the year.

'The demand for air-conditioners is astounding when compared to that of other major or small kitchen appliances,' Rinaldi said.

For him, the high demand for air-conditioning has much to do with the lifestyle of urban-dwelling Indonesians.

Rinaldi said all societies with a high gross domestic product (GDP) or increasing economic standards were bound to experience a lifestyle change.

'I assure you that 100 percent of offices in Indonesia are air-conditioned, even the SMEs [small and medium enterprises]. There's no way anyone could do without the comfort of this in their own homes,' he explained.

According to Rinaldi, the company still aims to achieve double-digit growth in sales by the end of the year.

'We are targeting more than 10 percent,' he said.

'We'll continue to find a way to achieve that growth.'