Rating Rationale
April 22, 2025 | Mumbai
Generic Engineering Construction and Projects Limited
Ratings reaffirmed at 'Crisil BB/Negative/Crisil A4+'
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities RatedRs.160 Crore
Long Term RatingCrisil BB/Negative (Reaffirmed)
Short Term RatingCrisil A4+ (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 BB/Negative/Crisil A4+ ratings on the bank loan facilities of Generic Engineering Construction and Projects Limited (GECPL).

 

The rating reflects extensive experience of the promoters in the civil construction industry, strong order book providing revenue visibility and comfortable capital structure. These strengths are partially offset by its susceptibility to cyclical downturns and intense competition in civil construction industry, working capital intensive operations and stretched liquidity.

Analytical Approach

Crisil Ratings has evaluated the standalone business and financial risk profiles of GECPL

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description

Strengths:

  • Extensive industry experience of the promoters: The promoters have experience of over 50 years in the civil construction industry. This has given them an understanding of the dynamics of the market and enabled them to establish relationships with suppliers and customers. They have longstanding relationships with customers, which has helped the firm successfully navigate business cycles over the years. Over the years, GECPL has successfully completed several projects with various government authorities and private entities. Revenue is estimated to increase to Rs 300 Crore in fiscal 2025 from Rs 260 Crore in fiscal 2022.

 

  • Strong revenue visibility: Successful track record of project execution has led to healthy unexecuted order book of around Rs 1200 crore as on February 2025, to be executed in the next two-three years. This provides strong revenue visibility over the medium term and will help scale up operations.

 

  • Comfortable capital structure: Networth remains strong at Rs. 245 crores as on March 31, 2024, and capital structure is comfortable as reflected in gearing and total outside liabilities to adjusted networth ratio of 0.28 time and 0.79 time, respectively, as on March 31, 2024. Debt protection is adequate on account of moderate operating margin and limited interest expense, indicated by interest coverage and net cash accrual to adjusted debt ratios of 3.21 times and 0.32 times, respectively, in fiscal 2024. The capital structure is expected to be comfortable in the medium term with expected Gearing and total outside liabilities to adjusted networth (TOLANW) at 0.26 times and 0.62 times respectively, estimated as on March 31, 2025 and debt protection metrics are also expected to remain at healthy over the medium term backed by healthy profitability.

 

Weaknesses:

  • Large working capital requirement: The large working capital requirement, reflected by gross current assets (GCAs) of 283-420 days for the past three fiscal ended March 2024, driven by debtors and inventory of 200 days and 152 days respectively. Debtors are usually high in March due to 40% of revenues booked in last quarter of the fiscal. Further, there is high work in progress inventory as some portion of booking is done on milestone basis. Because of the business requirement, operations will remain working capital intensive  as indicated by the GCA days between 350-400 days over the medium term.

 

  • Susceptibility to cyclical downturns and intense competition in civil construction industry:  Construction industry is cyclical by nature and is also prone to economic downturns and GECPL, like other players in the industry, will remain susceptible to these trends. GECPL is also a relatively small player in the highly competitive and fragmented civil construction industry with estimated revenue of Rs 300 crores in fiscal 2025. The presence of a large number of small players also restricts pricing flexibility for players such as GECPL, resulting in pressure on its margins.

Liquidity: Stretched

GECPL is expected to generate net cash accruals of Rs.20-25 crores annually in fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 against long term repayment obligations of Rs.1.38 crores over the same period. However, GECPL's fund-based limits utilization is high with over 100%for  the   past ten months through January 2025.  Liquidity profile is also constrained by stretched working capital operations of GECPL. Any further stretch in the liquidity risk profile shall remain a key monitorable.

Outlook: Negative

Crisil Ratings believes GECPL’s liquiidty will continue to remain pressured due to full utilization of bank limits. Crisil ratings will continue to monitor the bank limit utilization over the medium term.

Rating sensitivity factors

Upward factors:

  • Sustained revenue growth and stable operating margin leading to healthy cash accruals.
  • Bank limit utilization below 90% on sustained basis.

 

Downward factors:

  • Decline in scale of operations and operating margins leading to lower net cash accruals
  • Large, debt-funded capex weakening the financial and liquidity profile
  • Substantial increase in GCAs to above 450 days, thus weakening liquidity and the financial risk profile.

About the Company

GECPL, incorporated in 1994 in Mumbai by Mr. Manish Patel and his family. It undertakes civil construction work for buildings across commercial, residential, industrial, health and leisure and institutional buildings with presence in states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa & Himachal Pradesh. GECPL is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

Key Financial Indicators

As on / for the period ended March 31

Unit

2024

2023

Operating income

Rs crore

289.36

273.50

Reported profit after tax

Rs crore

11.14

15.31

PAT margins

%

3.84

5.59

Adjusted Debt/Adjusted Net worth

Times

0.28

0.27

Interest coverage

Times

3.21

4.66

Status of non cooperation with previous CRA

CARE Ratings has assigned non-cooperative rating to the bank facilities of GECPL vide press release dated 15th November, 2022 on account of non-cooperation by GECPL with the efforts to undertake a review of the ratings outstanding.

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 Outstanding with Outlook
NA Cash Credit NA NA NA 53.00 NA Crisil BB/Negative
NA Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee NA NA NA 100.00 NA Crisil A4+
NA Proposed Working Capital Facility NA NA NA 7.00 NA Crisil BB/Negative
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2025 (History) 2024  2023  2022  Start of 2022
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund Based Facilities LT 60.0 Crisil BB/Negative   -- 28-02-24 Crisil BB/Negative 30-11-23 Crisil BB+/Watch Negative 21-06-22 Crisil BBB/Stable --
      --   --   -- 12-09-23 Crisil BBB/Stable 13-06-22 Crisil BBB/Stable --
Non-Fund Based Facilities ST 100.0 Crisil A4+   -- 28-02-24 Crisil A4+ 30-11-23 Crisil A4+/Watch Negative 21-06-22 Crisil A3+ --
      --   --   -- 12-09-23 Crisil A3+ 13-06-22 Crisil A3+ --
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of Bank Lenders & Facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Name of Lender Rating
Cash Credit 10 ICICI Bank Limited Crisil BB/Negative
Cash Credit 15 Union Bank of India Crisil BB/Negative
Cash Credit 28 State Bank of India Crisil BB/Negative
Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 55 State Bank of India Crisil A4+
Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 35 Union Bank of India Crisil A4+
Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 10 ICICI Bank Limited Crisil A4+
Proposed Working Capital Facility 7 Not Applicable Crisil BB/Negative
Criteria Details
Links to related criteria
Basics of Ratings (including default recognition, assessing information adequacy)
Criteria for manufacturing, trading and corporate services sector (including approach for financial ratios)

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