Rating Rationale
June 06, 2019 | Mumbai
Jagran Prakashan Limited
Ratings Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.285 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL AA+/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Short Term Rating CRISIL A1+ (Reaffirmed)
 
Rs.300 Crore Non Convertible Debentures CRISIL AA+/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Rs.70 Crore Commercial Paper CRISIL A1+ (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL AA+/Stable/CRISIL A1+' ratings on debt instruments and bank facilities of Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL).

The reaffirmation factors in the recent announcement by JPL's subsidiary, Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL; 'CRISIL AA/Stable/CRISIL A1+'), to acquire Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL), for an enterprise value of Rs 1,050 crore. Initially, MBL would acquire a 24% stake in RBNL, through a preferential allotment of shares, for a consideration of Rs 202 crore. Upon receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals, MBL would pay Rs 348 crore to RBNL's shareholders to acquire the remaining stake. CRISIL believes JPL, on a consolidated basis, has sufficient liquidity (Rs 616 crore at March 31, 2019) to be able to fund the transaction, and hence, there will be minimal dependence on external funds.

As part of the transaction, Rs 500 crore debt of RBNL will be subsumed by MBL. However, given the strong operating profit of JPL - Rs 535 crore in fiscal 2019 ' and further cash flows from RBNL, financial risk profile should remain strong. CRISIL expects the gearing to remain below 0.7 time and net debt to EBITDA to remain below 1.5 times for JPL.

The ratings continue to reflect the leadership position of the group's flagship daily, Dainik Jagran, its healthy market position in the radio business, and steady cash accrual and strong financial risk profile. These strengths are partially offset by exposure to intense competition, volatility in newsprint prices, and economic cycles.

Analytical Approach

For arriving at the ratings, CRISIL has combined the business and financial risk profiles of JPL, its subsidiaries MBL and Midday Infomedia Ltd (MIL; 'CRISIL AA-/Stable'), and associate companies, Leet OOH Media Pvt Ltd and X-Pert Publicity Pvt Ltd. This is because all these entities, collectively referred to as JPL group, are in the same business, under common promoters.
 
CRISIL has amortised the goodwill arising from the acquisition of Nai Dunia Media Ltd (NDML) and MBL, over five and ten years, respectively.

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:
* Leadership position of the flagship daily, Dainik Jagran: As per the latest readership survey data, Dainik Jagran has a total readership (TR1) of over 7.4 crore, which is the highest amongst all newspapers in India. Furthermore, as per the audit bureau of circulation data for July-December 2018, the newspaper is the second largest circulated daily in India, with average daily circulation of 34.10 lakh, after Dainik Bhaskar with 43.21 lakh. The JPL group enjoys a competitive position, aided by established presence of Dainik Jagran, mainly in the Hindi belt (across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, the National Capital Region, and other regions); and central and eastern India. Its other publication, Nai Dunia, also featured among the top 10 Hindi newspapers with a TR of 71 lakh. The position in the print media segment should remain strong, underpinned by Dainik Jagran and supported by Nai Dunia, MidDay, and Inquilab.
 
* Healthy market position in the radio business: The JPL group has 39 channels in the radio segment, following organic and inorganic expansion. Leveraging the established brand of Radio City, the radio business saw revenue grow by 13% in fiscal 2019, over the previous fiscal. The 11 stations acquired during the phase 3 auctions have started contributing moderate operating profit.
 
MBL's plan to acquire RBNL will provide it access to 40 radio stations, thereby enabling it to reach 82% of India's FM population. Through the transaction, MBL will add 30 new cities and get access to dual frequencies in 10 cities, including major metros and large cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Nagpur, Surat, Lucknow and Kanpur.
 
* Strong cash accrual and healthy financial risk profile: Cash accrual remained healthy at Rs 295 crore, despite high newsprint prices and subdued advertisement revenue, during fiscal 2019. Moreover, low debt and minimal capital expenditure (capex) have helped maintain a strong financial risk profile. Networth remains large, gearing comfortable, and debt protection metrics robust.
 
With the proposed acquisition of RBNL, debt will increase as Rs 500 crore of RBNL's debt will be subsumed by MBL. However, accrual should improve in fiscal 2020, with a 25% revision in rates provided by Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (effective January 2019) and expected revenue growth from elections. Therefore, the financial risk profile should remain comfortable with gearing remaining below 0.5 times and net debt to EBITDA ratio remaining below 1.5 times.
 
Weaknesses:
* Susceptibility to volatility in newsprint prices and to economic cycles: Profitability remains vulnerable to movement in the price of newsprint, which accounted for 40% of JPL's operating cost during fiscal 2019. Average newsprint price increased 35% in fiscal 2019, over the previous fiscal, leading to fall in operating margin to 22.6% from 25.4%. Profitability is also susceptible to fluctuations in the rupee-dollar exchange rate as JPL imports around 30% of its newsprint requirement.
 
Furthermore, operating margin of media houses remains vulnerable to economic downturns as advertisement revenue is linked to economic conditions.
 
* Exposure to intense competition: JPL is in competition with other Hindi dailies such as Amar Ujala and Hindustan, which have a healthy circulation in core markets of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Ability to withstand competition and drive revenue growth will remain key monitorables.
Liquidity

Liquidity is adequate, driven by healthy cash accrual of Rs 295 crore in fiscal 2019, and cash balance and liquid investments of Rs 616 crore as on March 31, 2019. Fund-based limit of Rs 175 crore was utilised at an average of 46% over the 12 months through November 2018. Liquidity should remain sufficient to meet the cash consideration of Rs 550 crore for RBNL's acquisition, thereby minimising dependence on external debt.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes the JPL group's business risk profile will remain strong over the medium term, driven by its market leadership in the Hindi belt, and increasing contribution of other publications and the radio business. Steady cash accrual should support the financial risk profile.
 
Upside scenario
* Significant increase in revenue and operating profit
* Revenue diversity in terms of businesses and geographies, along with healthy profitability and capital structure
 
Downside scenario
* Large, debt-funded acquisition or capex, weakening the capital structure or debt protection metrics

About the Group

JPL is the flagship company of the Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh-based JPL group, promoted by the PC Gupta family. The group publishes eight newspapers and a magazine, from 37 printing facilities across 13 states in 5 languages. JPL acquired MIL in a 2:7 equity-swap ratio in fiscal 2011. In April 2012, JPL acquired Suvi Info Management (Indore) Pvt Ltd (Suvi) at an enterprise value of Rs 225 crore. Suvi was the holding company of NDML, which published Nai Dunia. NDML has been merged with JPL effective April 1, 2012. In fiscal 2016, the JPL group acquired MBL which has now grown to 39 stations and 50 online stations.

1Newspaper read in the past one month

Key Financial Indicators (Jagran Prakashan Limited ' Consolidated)
As on / for the period ended March 31   2019 2018
Operating revenue Rs crore 2,366 2,308
Adjusted profit after tax (PAT) Rs crore 264 301
Adjusted PAT margin % 11.2 13.0
Adjusted debt/adjusted networth Times 0.20 0.07
Adjusted interest coverage Times 21.80 22.56
These are CRISIL adjusted numbers and do not match directly with the numbers reported by the company

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 Debentures^ NA NA NA 300 CRISIL AA+/Stable
NA Commercial Paper NA NA 7-365 days 70 CRISIL A1+
NA Cash Credit NA NA NA 175 CRISIL AA+/Stable
NA Letter of Credit* NA NA NA 50 CRISIL A1+
NA Proposed Working
Capital Facility
NA NA NA 60 CRISIL A1+
^Yet to be placed
*Fully interchangeable with bank guarantee
 
Annexure - List of entities consolidated
Subsidiaries
Music Broadcast Ltd
Midday Infomedia Ltd
 
Associates
Leet OOH Media Pvt Ltd
X-Pert Publicity Pvt Ltd.
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  70.00  CRISIL A1+  07-01-19  CRISIL A1+  25-06-18  CRISIL A1+  30-06-17  CRISIL A1+  21-06-16  CRISIL A1+  CRISIL A1+ 
Non Convertible Debentures  LT  0.00
06-06-19 
CRISIL AA+/Stable  07-01-19  CRISIL AA+/Stable  25-06-18  Withdrawal  30-06-17  CRISIL AA+/Stable  21-06-16  CRISIL AA+/Stable  CRISIL AA+/Stable 
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  235.00  CRISIL AA+/Stable  07-01-19  CRISIL AA+/Stable  25-06-18  CRISIL AA+/Stable  30-06-17  CRISIL AA+/Stable  21-06-16  CRISIL AA+/Stable  CRISIL AA+/Stable 
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  50.00  CRISIL A1+  07-01-19  CRISIL A1+  25-06-18  CRISIL A1+  30-06-17  CRISIL A1+  21-06-16  CRISIL A1+  CRISIL A1+ 
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
Cash Credit 175 CRISIL AA+/Stable Cash Credit 175 CRISIL AA+/Stable
Letter of Credit* 50 CRISIL A1+ Letter of Credit* 110 CRISIL A1+
Proposed Working Capital Facility 60 CRISIL AA+/Stable -- 0 --
Total 285 -- Total 285 --
*Fully interchangeable with bank guarantee
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
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation
CRISILs Criteria for rating short term debt

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