Rating Rationale
July 18, 2022 | Mumbai
Bhadreswar Rice Mill
Ratings Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities RatedRs.24.57 Crore
Long Term RatingCRISIL BBB/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Short Term RatingCRISIL A3+ (Reaffirmed)
Note: None of the Directors on CRISIL Ratings Limited’s Board are members of rating committee and thus do not participate in discussion or assignment of any ratings. The Board of Directors also does not discuss any ratings at its meetings.
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to Annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities

Detailed rationale

CRISIL Ratings has reaffirmed its ‘CRISIL BBB/Stable/CRISIL A3+’ ratings on the bank facilities of Bhadreswar Rice Mill (BRM; part of the Bhadreswar group).

 

The ratings continue to reflect the extensive experience of the promoters in the rice industry and the firm’s comfortable financial risk profile. These strengths are partially offset by exposure to intense competition and susceptibility to changes in government regulations.

Analytical approach

For arriving at the ratings, CRISIL Ratings has combined the business and financial risk profiles of BRM, Bishnu Mangal Rice Mill (BMRM) and Bhadreswar Agro Pvt Ltd (BAPL). This is because all these entities, collectively referred to as the Bhadreswar group, are under a common management and in the same business. They sell their products under one brand and have common clients and suppliers. Furthermore, there is need-based fungible cash flow among them.

 

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

Key rating drivers and detailed description

Strengths:

  • Extensive experience of the promoters- The promoters have been in the rice industry for over three decades. They leased rice mills till 2003, when they acquired BRM and scaled up operations to 20 tonne per hour (tph) from 5 tph. BAPL was acquired in 2008 and BMRM in 2016. Over the years, the promoters have successfully established a procurement network and forged a dominant position in the non-basmati rice segment in India.

 

  • Comfortable financial risk profile- The financial risk profile should remain comfortable over the medium term, supported by minimal debt and healthy cash accrual. The networth is estimated at Rs 71 crore and gearing is estimated to be healthy at 0.05 time as on March 31, 2022, on account of the management’s conservative financial policy. The debt protection metrics have been robust, with interest coverage and net cash accrual to total debt ratios estimated at 65.99 times and 6.26 times, respectively, in fiscal 2022.

 

Weaknesses:

  • Exposure to intense competition- The rice milling business in West Bengal is highly fragmented, comprising numerous organised and unorganised players catering to regional demand. The consequent intense competition may continue to constrain scalability, pricing power and profitability.

 

  • Susceptibility to changes in government regulations- The minimum support price for paddy and the prevailing price for rice are key determinants of a rice mill's profitability. Being an agricultural product, availability of paddy is seasonal and dependent on the monsoon and irrigation. This exposes the group to the risk of limited availability of raw material in case of unfavourable climatic conditions, leading to fluctuations in paddy and rice prices. This is compounded by the group’s limited ability to completely pass on any price hike to customers. Also, the rice industry is regulated in terms of paddy price, export/import of rice and the rice-release mechanism.

Liquidity: Adequate

The bank limit utilisation of the group remained low at 30-40% on average for the 12 months through March 2022. Cash accrual is expected to be over Rs 20 crore, which should be adequate against minimal debt obligation. Furthermore, it will act as a cushion and remain available for working capital requirement. Low gearing and moderate networth support financial flexibility and provide the financial cushion required in case of any adverse conditions or downturns in the business.

Outlook: Stable

The Bhadreswar group should continue to benefit from its established brand presence and the extensive experience of the promoters.

Rating sensitivity factors

Upward factors

  • Increase in revenue and profitability, leading to cash accrual of more than Rs 30 crore per fiscal
  • Minimal or nil capital withdrawal, thus strengthening the financial risk profile, especially liquidity

 

Downward factors

  • Fall in revenue to less than Rs 300 crore per fiscal, with steep decline in profitability
  • Weakening of the financial risk profile, especially liquidity, on account of substantial capital withdrawal

About the group

Based in Burdwan, West Bengal, the Bhadreswar group mills and processes different varieties of paddy into non-basmati parboiled rice. It also sells by-products such as rice bran, broken rice and husk. Operations are managed by Mr Sanat Kumar Nandi and his sons, Mr Partha Sarthi Nandi and Mr Palash Nandi.

Key financial indicators - Consolidated

As on / for the period ended March 31

 

2021

2020

Operating income

Rs crore

376.72

310.39

Reported profit after tax (PAT)

Rs crore

16.84

15.26

PAT margin

%

4.47

4.92

Adjusted debt/adjusted networth

Times

0.08

0.16

Interest coverage

Times

59.97

24.98

 

Key financial indicators - Standalone

As on / for the period ended March 31

 

2021

2020

Operating income

Rs crore

239.12

182.53

Reported profit after tax (PAT)

Rs crore

11.34

9.30

PAT margin

%

4.74

5.10

Adjusted debt/adjusted networth

Times

0.06

0.03

Interest coverage

Times

240.53

41.18

 

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL Ratings` complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments and are included (where applicable) in the 'Annexure - Details of Instrument' in this Rating Rationale.

CRISIL Ratings will disclose complexity level for all securities - including those that are yet to be placed - based on available information. The complexity level for instruments may be updated, where required, in the rating rationale published subsequent to the issuance of the instrument when details on such features are available.

For more details on the CRISIL Ratings` complexity levels please visit www.crisilratings.com. 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 crore)

Complexity

levels

Rating assigned

with outlook

NA

Cash Credit

NA

NA

NA

12

NA

CRISIL BBB/Stable

NA

Proposed Long Term

Bank Loan Facility

NA

NA

NA

5.9

NA

CRISIL BBB/Stable

NA

Proposed Short Term

Bank Loan Facility

NA

NA

NA

4.87

NA

CRISIL A3+

NA

Bank Guarantee

NA

NA

NA

1.8

NA

CRISIL A3+

 

Annexure – List of entities consolidated

Names of entities consolidated

Extent of consolidation

Rationale for consolidation

Bhadreswar Agro Pvt Ltd

Full

Common management, significant business and financial linkages

Bhadreswar Rice Mill

Full

Common management, significant business and financial linkages

Bishnu Mangal Rice Mill

Full

Common management, significant business and financial linkages

 

Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2022 (History) 2021  2020  2019  Start of 2019
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund Based Facilities LT/ST 22.77 CRISIL A3+ / CRISIL BBB/Stable   -- 25-05-21 CRISIL A3+ / CRISIL BBB/Stable 11-02-20 CRISIL A3+ / CRISIL BBB/Stable 03-01-19 CRISIL A3+ / CRISIL BBB/Stable CRISIL A3+ / CRISIL BBB/Stable
Non-Fund Based Facilities ST 1.8 CRISIL A3+   -- 25-05-21 CRISIL A3+ 11-02-20 CRISIL A3+ 03-01-19 CRISIL A3+ CRISIL A3+
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of Bank Lenders & Facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Name of Lender Rating
Bank Guarantee 1.8 Punjab National Bank CRISIL A3+
Cash Credit 12 Punjab National Bank CRISIL BBB/Stable
Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 5.9 Not Applicable CRISIL BBB/Stable
Proposed Short Term Bank Loan Facility 4.87 Not Applicable CRISIL A3+

This Annexure has been updated on 08-Mar-23 in line with the lender-wise facility details as on 13-Feb-23 received from the rated entity.

Criteria Details
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Approach to Financial Ratios
Rating criteria for manufaturing and service sector companies
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
Rating Criteria for Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry
CRISILs Criteria for rating short term debt
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation

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