New Delhi, Oct. 1 -- As India enters the key festive shopping season, home appliance makers are raising prices to offset higher raw-material costs, even as demand remains subdued and manufacturers continue to absorb part of the inflationary pressure, according to a quarterly sector preview by Kotak Institutional Equities.

The timing is significant as festive demand is expected to support sales across white goods, while a fresh round of price increases effective from October 1 could also pull some purchases forward. Kotak said higher input costs are supporting revenue growth through pricing in some categories but are also putting pressure on margins where companies have not fully passed the increase on to consumers.

"Growth in white good...