Rating Rationale
June 19, 2019 | Mumbai
3i Infotech Limited
Rating Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.387.81 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL BBB-/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL BBB-/Stable' rating on the bank facilities of 3i Infotech Limited (3i Infotech).
 
The rating continues to reflect the company's sustained operating performance and steady cash flow, leading to improved liquidity and track record of timely servicing of debt.
 
Following the implementation of the revised debt restructuring scheme (DRS) under the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) mechanism in June 2016, 3i Infotech focused on consolidation of operations in terms of leveraging products and services, cost reduction, and optimal utilisation of resources. Operating margin declined due to non-recurring expenditure on new product development / enhancements in fiscal 2019, which has been charged to P&L Account. However, the core operations are expected to grow over the medium term, generating sufficient cash accrual.
 
Steady operating performance with net cash accrual of Rs 110 crore for fiscal 2019 improved liquidity, which is also supported by cash and bank balance of Rs 105 crore as on March 31, 2019 (Rs 45 crore as on March 31, 2018). The company had prepaid debt of Rs 97 falling due from April 2018  to June 2019 under the DRS package. The package has been approved by lenders accounting for 98% in terms of exposure and 92% in terms of the absolute debt number, in line with CDR guidelines. The non-CDR lenders too have restructured their exposure along the lines of the CDR package. CRISIL considers the revised structure as applicable for all lenders, including two CDR lenders who are yet to approve the DRS package.
 
Over the medium term, 3i Infotech's strategy of focusing on key markets such as the United States, and higher budgeted investments towards product development will help drive revenue growth while sustaining profitability.
 
The rating reflects 3i Infotech's diversified revenue, leading BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) product portfolio with healthy demand prospects and profitability, and adequate liquidity backed by steady cash generation and long tenure of borrowings. These strengths are partially offset by average financial risk profile and modest scale of operations amid intense competition.

Analytical Approach

For arriving at the rating, CRISIL has combined the business and financial risk profiles of 3i Infotech and all its subsidiaries, held directly or indirectly. This is because all the entities, collectively referred to as 3i Infotech, share a common management and are in the same business.

Please refer Annexure - List of entities consolidated, which captures the list of entities considered and their analytical treatment of consolidation. 

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Diversified revenue: Clients are spread across geographies and verticals such as banking, finance, insurance, and manufacturing. The company's wide product range reduces concentration risk and offsets slowdown in any particular segment. Also, presence in both the product and service segments gives the company an edge over other domestic competitors as most information technology (IT) companies in India focus on services. Steady revenue from annual maintenance charges in the products business provides stability to cash flow.
 
* Leading BFSI product portfolio with healthy demand prospects and profitability: The company's products, PREMIA and MFund, are among the leading products in their segments in India. The product portfolio has strong intellectual property and boasts of healthy profitability. Within IT services and solutions, BFSI is the largest vertical, contributing more than 50% to revenue. On average, banks and financial institutions spend 7-8% of revenue on IT, which is the highest customer spend among all verticals. Out of BFSI's IT budget, about 20% is allocated to buying or upgrading software. Revenue prospects for IT product firms focusing on BFSI is expected to remain healthy, driven by continued high spending, increasing adoption of digital technologies, and expected increase in penetration.
 
Weaknesses
* Average financial risk profile: Long term debt was at Rs 540 crore and preference share capital at Rs 381 crore against a small networth of Rs 209 crore, as on March 31, 2019. Hence, gearing was high at 4.29 times. Large debt and modest profitability have led to subdued debt protection metrics, reflected in interest coverage and net cash accrual to total debt ratio of 1.68 times and 0.12 time, respectively, for fiscal 2019. However, the interest expense includes non-cash charge for notional interest on preference shares, and the adjusted interest coverage is 2.99 times.
 
* Modest scale of operations amid intense competition: Small scale is a constraining factor in an industry wherein economies of scale matter. With global majors such as Computer Science Corporation and International Business Machine Corporation having an established base in India and many companies shifting to an offshore revenue model, competition in the domestic market is intensifying. 3i Infotech is a medium-sized player and its revenue and operating profitability are likely to be constrained.
Liquidity

The company had cash and back balances of Rs 105 crore as on March 31, 2019, and generated internal accrual of Rs 110 crore in fiscal 2019. These funds should be sufficient to meet debt obligation of Rs 80 crore till March 31, 2020. Moreover, no capex is expected over the medium term, other than maintenance capex of about Rs 5 crore. The incremental working capital requirement is also expected to be negligible and likely to be managed through internal accrual. Currently, the company has limited access to fund-based working capital limits and is managing its working capital majorly through internal sources.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes 3i Infotech will sustain the improvement in its business and financial risk profiles over the medium term, backed by healthy revenue growth, improving profitability, and reduction in debt.

Upside scenario
* Better-than-expected operating profitability with healthy cash generation
* Significant reduction in debt backed by improved financial risk profile
 Downside scenario
* Lower-than-expected revenue growth and operating profitability
* Weakening of financial risk profile due to large, debt-funded capital expenditure or acquisition

About the Company

3i Infotech (formerly, ICICI Infotech Ltd) was set up in 1993 by the erstwhile ICICI Ltd as a back-office processing company. The company has presence across the globe with delivery centres in South Asia, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, North America, and Western Europe. It offers a range of IT products and services. Its IT product solutions include applications for the banking, financial, and insurance sectors, and an enterprise resource planning suite of applications. Its IT services include application development and maintenance, IT consulting, infrastructure management services, business intelligence and enterprise applications, and offshore and onsite support (through its business process outsourcing operations).

Key Financial Indicators^
Particulars Unit 2019 2018
Revenue Rs Crore 1122 991
EBITDA Rs Crore 150 157
PAT Margin % 9.6 11.0
Adjusted Debt/Adjusted Networth Times 4.29 6.10
Interest Coverage Times 2.99 3.43
^CRISIL adjusted numbers

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments. The CRISIL complexity levels are available on www.crisil.com/complexity-levels. Users are advised to refer to the CRISIL complexity levels for instruments that they consider for investment. Users may also call the Customer Service Helpdesk with queries on specific instruments.
Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)
ISIN Name of Instrument Date of Allotment Coupon
Rate (%)
Maturity Date Issue Size (Rs Cr) Rating Assigned
with Outlook
NA Term Loan NA NA Mar-2024 380.30 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
NA Proposed Term Loan NA NA NA 7.51 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
 
Annexure - List of entities consolidated
Names of Entities Consolidated
1 3i Infotech Consultancy Services Limited
2 3i Infotech BPO Limited
3 Locuz Enterprise Solutions Limited
4 Professional Access Software Development Private Limited
5 3i Infotech (middle east) FZ LLC
6 3i Infotech Software Solutions LLC
7 3i Infotech Inc
8 3i Infotech SDN BHD
9 3i Infotech (Thailand) Limited
10 3i Infotech (Cyprus) limited (erstwhile Black berret Holdings Limited)
11 3i Infotech Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
12 3i Infotech Services SDN BHD
13 3i Infotech (UK) Limited
14 3i Infotech (Western Europe) Group Limited
15 3i Infotech (Western Europe) Holdings Limited
16 Rhyme Systems Limited
17 3i Infotech Saudi Arabia LLC
18 3i Infotech Holdings Private Limited
19 3i Infotech (Africa) Limited
20 3i Infotech (South Africa) (Ply) Limited
21 Elegon Infotech Limited
22 Locuz Inc.
23 IFRS Cloud Solutions Limited
24 Process Central Limited (Nigeria Joint Venture)
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2019 (History) 2018  2017  2016  Start of 2016
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Commercial Paper  ST    --    --    --  30-11-17  Withdrawal  29-11-16  CRISIL D  CRISIL D 
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  387.81  CRISIL BBB-/Stable      31-05-18  CRISIL BBB-/Stable  30-11-17  CRISIL BB/Stable  29-11-16  CRISIL D/ CRISIL D  CRISIL D/ CRISIL D 
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating
Proposed Term Loan 7.51 CRISIL BBB-/Stable Term Loan 387.81 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
Term Loan 380.3 CRISIL BBB-/Stable -- 0 --
Total 387.81 -- Total 387.81 --
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Approach to Financial Ratios
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
Rating criteria for manufaturing and service sector companies
Rating Criteria for Software Industry
CRISILs Approach to Recognising Default
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation
CRISILs Criteria for rating short term debt

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