Rating Rationale
November 10, 2016 | Mumbai
Kuantum Papers Limited
 
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.1916 Million
Long Term Rating CRISIL BBB-/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Long Term Rating CRISIL BBB-/Stable (Notice of Withdrawal)
Long Term Rating CRISIL BBB-/Stable (Withdrawal)
Short Term Rating CRISIL A3 (Notice of Withdrawal)
(Refer to Annexure 1 for Facility-wise details)
 
Rs.300 Million Fixed Deposits FA-/Stable (Reaffirmed)

CRISIL has placed its ratings on cash credit bank facilities of Rs 350 million, and non-fund-based (letter of credit and bank guarantee) facility of Rs 482.5 million of Kuantum Paper Limited. (KPL) on 'Notice of Withdrawal' for 60 days; the ratings will be withdrawn at the end of the notice period. The ratings on term-loan of Rs 7.6 million from State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and proposed long-term bank loan facility has been withdrawn. The rating action is in line with CRISIL's policy on withdrawal of its ratings on bank loans.
 
CRISIL has reaffirmed its ratings on long-term bank facilities (corporate loan and term loan of Rs 1030.4 million) at 'CRISIL BBB-/Stable'. The ratings on fixed deposits have also been reaffirmed at FA-/Stable.
 
CRISIL has relied on publicly available information for rating these bank facilities, owing to lack of cooperation from the company during the surveillance process.
 
CRISIL's ratings on bank facilities and fixed deposits continue to reflect the above-average operating efficiency and comfortable market position in the writing and printing paper (WPP) segment. These rating strengths are partially offset by susceptibility to variations in paper prices, high dependence on agriculture-based raw material, and muted revenue growth expected in the absence of capacity additions. Financial flexibility continues to constrain the rating, due to high debt obligations scheduled in fiscal 2017. While CRISIL seeks comfort in financial support received via unsecured loans and preference shares from promoters, cash accrual will be largely utilised towards loan repayment and incremental working capital requirement. Therefore, any capital expenditure (capex) will have to be matched with timely financial support via long-term bank debt.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes that the company will continue to benefit from its comfortable market position and above-average operating efficiencies. The outlook may be revised to 'Positive' if substantial revenue growth and stable profitability, lead to higher cash accrual and better liquidity. The outlook may be revised to 'Negative' if low cash accrual, large working capital requirement, or significant capex, weakens liquidity.
 
Update
Revenue rose by around 5% in fiscal 2016, led by growth in volume, mainly of premium quality paper products like copier and surface-sized paper. 1.08 lac metric tonnes of paper was sold in fiscal 2016, vis-Ã'' -vis 0.99 lac metric tonnes in fiscal 2015. For the first quarter of fiscal 2017, revenue has grown 22%, in comparison to the same period in fiscal 2016.
 
KPL stands to benefit from its diversified product mix, comprising value-added products, such as coloured printing paper, Azure laid paper, parchment paper, cartridge paper and high bulk note book paper, which offer better realisations, other than routine surface-sized and non-surface sized products.
 
Operating profit margin declined marginally in fiscal 2016 (year-on-year), as high depreciation in the Indian currency increased cost of imported pulp and other materials.  Operating margin reported in quarter ending June 30, 2016 was higher at 18.2%. However, KPL fares better than its peers, owing to order-backed procurement and focus on high value-added products.
 
Financial risk profile remains comfortable, marked by healthy networth and moderate debt protection metrics. Adequate cash accrual has helped the capital structure improve steadily, despite the regular debt-funded capex. Gearing reduced to 1.44 times as on March 31, 2016, from around 1.52 times as on March 31, 2015, while the total outside liabilities to tangible networth remained comfortable at 1.75 times as on March 31, 2016. Debt protection metrics were also adequate in fiscal 2016, with interest coverage of 2.8 times and net cash accrual to total debt of 0.16 time, supported by moderate operating profitability. Financial risk profile should remain comfortable over the near term, but could be constrained in case of any major capex.

Liquidity is adequate, with sufficient cash accrual expected in fiscal 2017 to meet its debt obligation (around Rs 260 million; excluding maturing fixed deposits). Current ratio is moderate at 1.26 times as on March 31, 2016. Efficient working capital management is reflected in gross current assets of around 75 days as on March 31, 2016. Working capital requirement is funded via supplier credit, advances from customers and bank debt.

About the Company

KPL manufactures WPP and pulp. Incorporated in 1997, the company has four paper-making machines with aggregate capacity of around 100,000 tonnes per year, and a 16-megawatt cogeneration power plant, in Hoshiarpur (Punjab). KPL also has a chemical recovery plant and a hard-wood pulp street. It uses agriculture-based raw materials, such as wheat straw, kanna grass, and baggase, to produce paper.
 
For fiscal 2016, net profit stood at Rs 245 million on net sales of Rs 5.26 billion vis-a-vis Rs 250 million and Rs 5.0 billion, respectively, reported for fiscal 2015. Net profit for the three months ended June 2016 was Rs 143.2 million on net sales of Rs 1.42 billion, vis-a-vis Rs 34.5 million and Rs 1.16 billion, for the corresponding period of the previous year.

Annexure 1 - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Million) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Million) Rating
Bank Guarantee 75 CRISIL A3(Notice of Withdrawal) Bank Guarantee 75 CRISIL A3
Cash Credit 350 CRISIL BBB-/Stable(Notice of Withdrawal) Cash Credit 350 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
Corporate Loan 450 CRISIL BBB-/Stable Corporate Loan 450 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
Letter of Credit 407.5 CRISIL A3(Notice of Withdrawal) Letter of Credit 407.5 CRISIL A3
Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 45.5 Withdrawal Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 37.9 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
Rupee Term Loan 283.4 CRISIL BBB-/Stable Rupee Term Loan 291 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
Term Loan 297 CRISIL BBB-/Stable Term Loan 304.6 CRISIL BBB-/Stable
Term Loan* 7.6 Withdrawal -- 0 --
Total 1916 -- Total 1916 --
*The term loan with State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur has been repaid and the document stating the same has been submitted by the bank

Links to related criteria
CRISILs Approach to Financial Ratios
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
Rating Criteria for Manufacturing Companies
Rating Criteria for Paper Industry
Criteria for rating Short-Term Debt (including Commercial Paper)
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