Rating Rationale
May 20, 2020 | Mumbai
Kedia Pipes
Rated amount enhanced
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.29 Crore (Enhanced from Rs.25 Crore)
Long Term Rating CRISIL BB/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL rating on the bank facilities of Kedia Pipes (KP) continues to reflect the partners' experience in the steel trading industry, and their established relations with Tata Steel Ltd (TSL), and KP's comfortable return on capital employed (RoCE). These strengths are partially offset by KP's exposure to risks pertaining to the commodity nature of the products, price fluctuations, and supplier concentration.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths: 
* Partners' experience and established relations with TSL: Benefits derived from the partners' experience of over four decades, and longstanding relations with the key supplier, TSL, and several reputed customers should continue to support the business. Revenue is estiamted to remain healthy at healthy Rs 105 crore in fiscal 2020.
 
* Comfortable RoCE: Despite low operating margin, RoCE has been comfortable at 13-26% over the three years through fiscal 2020 due to steady accretion to reserve. RoCE is expected to remain stable over the medium term as well.
 
Weaknesses:
* Commodity nature of product offering and susceptibility to price fluctuations: Operations involve only trading, with no value addition to the products. Raw material cost, as a percentage of sales, was, therefore, high at 92-93% over the three years through fiscal 2020. Even slight fluctuations in the price of raw materials can drastically impact profitability. Modest scale of operations and intense competitive pressure limit pricing power, thereby restricting operating margin to 4-5.5% over the three years through fiscal 2020
 
* Exposure to supplier concentration risk: Supplier concentration risks persist because the entire revenue comes from selling TSL products. Relations with TSL will remain a rating sensitivity factor over the medium term, despite the longstanding ties between the two companies.
Liquidity Adequate

Liquidity is adequate, supported by moderate expected cash accrual of Rs 1.3-1.8 crore per fiscal against nil debt obligation, over the medium term. The cash accrual will support working capital management, reducing dependence on bank lines. The bank lines were utilised at an average of 75-80%.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes KP will continue to benefit from the experience of the partners.

Rating Sensitivity factors
Upward factors
* Increase in cash accruals more than Rs 2 crs on the back of sustained revenue growth and operating margin.
* Improved financial risk profile with TOL/TNW below 2 times and healthy interest coverage

Downward factors
* If its business stagnant due to weak demand or a stretch in receivables or pile-up of inventory adversely affects liquidity
* Weakening of financial risk profile with TOL/TNW higher than 7 times and interest coverage lower than 1.5 times
About the Company

Set up as a partnership in 1975, the Kolkata-based KP is an exclusive distributor for TSL's GI Pipes and Tata Structura (square and rectangular hollow sections) in seven districts of West Bengal: Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 parganas, South 24 parganas, Nadia, Hoogly and east Midnapore. Mr Prabhat Kedia and Mr Dilip Kedia are the partners.

Key Financial Indicators
As on/for the period ended March 31   2019 2018
Operating income Rs crore 137.87 122.48
Reported profit after tax Rs crore 1.81 2.84
PAT margins % 1.31 2.32
Adjusted Debt/Adjusted Networth Times 5.00 4.85
Interest coverage Times 2.38 3.55

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 crore) Rating Assigned with Outlook
NA Cash Credit NA NA NA 29 CRISIL BB/Stable
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2020 (History) 2019  2018  2017  Start of 2017
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  29.00  CRISIL BB/Stable      18-02-19  CRISIL BB/Stable      07-11-17  CRISIL BB/Stable  -- 
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 29 CRISIL BB/Stable Cash Credit 25 CRISIL BB/Stable
Total 29 -- Total 25 --
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

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