Rating Rationale
March 29, 2018 | Mumbai
Leighton India Contractors Private Limited
Rating Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.1399.5 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL A/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL A/Stable' rating on bank facilities of Leighton India Contractors Pvt Ltd (LICPL).

The rating reflects CRISIL's expectation of sustained improvement in operating performance over the medium term, and maintenance of a healthy capital structure and liquidity profile, aided by equity infusion by LICPL's parent, CIMIC Group Ltd (CGL; rated 'BBB-/Negative/A-3' by S&P Global [S&P]) in the past.  Operating performance has improved during the current fiscal, with revenue of Rs 829 crore and operating margin of 5% in the 10 months ending January 31, 2018.  The ratings continue to reflect LICPL's healthy order book position, established track record in executing complex construction projects, and the strong operational and financial support that it receives from its parent, CGL. These strengths are partially offset by stretched working capital cycle, exposure to intense competition and susceptibility to cyclicality in the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) segment.

Analytical Approach

In addition to the standalone analysis of LICPL, CRISIL also factors in the strong financial and operational support provided by the parent, CGL.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Healthy order pipeline, and significant improvement in operating performance: LICPL had orders worth Rs 2442 crore as on December 30, 2017, and plans to continue focusing on high-end projects in the commercial and residential segments only from reputed private players. However, this could lead to customer and sector concentration risks. The top three orders, from the construction sector, account for nearly 80% of orders; nevertheless, as bulk of contracts follow a cost-plus model, the cost over-run risk is largely mitigated. Revenue grew by 28% for the 10 months ending January 31, 2018, compared to fiscal 2017 while operating margin improved to 5% vis-Ã' -vis -0.1% in fiscal 2017. With a healthy order inflow from the infrastructure and real estate sectors, and many of the orders following the cost-plus model, the company is expected to sustain improvement in operating performance over the medium term. 
 
* Healthy capital structure and comfortable financial risk profile: Underscoring the strong parental linkages, CGL has infused more than Rs 1,300 crore via equity during the past three years; the funds have mainly been used to repay debt, and for filing arbitration claims against Cairn and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) The company has no long-term debt on its books as on March 1, 2018, and mainly relies on non-fund based limit to cover the working capital requirement. Capital structure is likely to remain healthy, with CGL offering need-based support to meet any financial exigency.
 
* Strong operational and financial support from the parent, CGL: LICPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CGL. Despite a change in the ultimate parent's name in 2015, CGL, along with its subsidiaries, continues to use the Leighton brand name. CRISIL believes that a common brand, full ownership, and complete management control imply a strong moral obligation on the part of CGL to offer continued support to LICPL, which is also a key rating driver. LICPL further benefits from the parent's strong market position, significant integration of business and operations between the two companies, operational and management support from CGL, at the time of bidding and during execution of contracts, and access to a rich talent pool.
 
* Established track record in executing complex construction contracts: Benefits from extensive experience and established track record of the management, in executing construction contracts for the infrastructure, real estate and oil and gas sectors on an EPC basis, will continue. The company also has strong technical capabilities and domain expertise in construction and execution of complex projects. Having executed large projects for various government and private sector organisations, it caters to a fairly diversified clientele.
 
Weakness
* Stretched working capital cycle; although supported by healthy liquidity: Operations remain working capital intensive, mainly due to legacy issues with respect to the ONGC order. The unbilled work in progress (WIP) has remained same as last year at around Rs 656 crore .These are pertaining to customer ONGC and Cairn and are currently under dispute, and the company has filed arbitration claims against them. Also, billed receivables of Rs 153 crore are pending against these customers.  The arbitration claims filed against ONGC and Cairn, including the unbilled and billed revenue are worth over Rs 3000 Crores.
 
However, the company has been able to manage its working capital efficiently, aided by a healthy cash balance of over Rs  276  crore as of January 2018, and healthy relationships with suppliers. Receipt of arbitration claims and improvement in working capital management, upon receipt of such claims, will remain key rating monitorables.
 
* Susceptibility to risks related to intense competition and cyclicality in the EPC industry: The order mix is now likely to be dominated by construction projects, as against oil and gas and infrastructure projects previously. The company, which has a proven track record in the oil and gas sector, is a relatively new entrant in the domestic real estate sector, which is inherently cyclical.
Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes LICPL will sustain its healthy capital structure and improve its business risk profile over the medium term, while taking new orders. The outlook may be revised to 'Positive' in case of healthy growth in revenue and operating profitability, and sustained improvement in working capital management. The outlook may be revised to 'Negative' if operating performance or capital structure weakens substantially, due to a stretch in working capital cycle, pertaining to orders executed in the past. The rating will also remain sensitive to changes in S&P Global's rating on CGL's credit facilities, and extent of financial support provided to LICPL.

About the Company

LICPL, set up in 1998, undertakes construction contracts in the infrastructure, and real estate sectors. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leighton International Ltd (LIL), which is a 100% subsidiary of CGL, Australia's largest contracting and project development group. CGL, formerly known as Leighton Holdings Ltd, founded in 1949, has a strong market position in the infrastructure and contract mining sectors. The Leighton group owns and operates a number of diverse and independent operating companies. It is present in over 20 countries, and employs over 56,000 people. CGL earned net profit of Australian dollar (AUD) 702 million on revenue of AUD 1340 million for year ended December 2017.

Key Financial Indicators
Particulars Unit 9m 2018^ 2017 2016
Revenue Rs crore 756.73 777.12 758.71
Profit  before tax Rs crore 60.43 16.40 35.70
PBT margin % 7.98 2.11 4.70
Profit after tax Rs crore 13 -3 32
PAT margin % 1.7 -0.3 4.2
Adjusted debt/adjusted networth* Times 0 0 0
Adjusted interest coverage Times NA -0.11 -0.92
*Net worth has been adjusted by deducting unbilled revenues pertaining to ONGC and Cairn orders
^9 month

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 Bank guarantee*@ NA NA NA 278.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Bank guarantee**@ NA NA NA 260.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Bank guarantee***@ NA NA NA 300.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Bank guarantee@# NA NA NA 350.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Bank guarantee@## NA NA NA 200.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Proposed Long Term Bank Loan facility NA NA NA 11.50 CRISIL A/Stable
*@ Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 101 crore, Financial guarantee upto Rs.75 crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 102 crore,
**@ Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 175 crore, Financial guarantee upto Rs.175 crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 260 crore, Overdraft upto Rs.50 crore, Working capital upto Rs.30 crore, Buyer's credit upto Rs.260crore
***@ Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 300crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 100 crore, Cash credit upto Rs.30crore, LOU upto Rs.100 crore,
@# Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 350crore, Financial guarantee upto Rs.200 crore
@## Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 200 crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 200crore, Cash credit upto Rs.20crore.
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2018 (History) 2017  2016  2015  Start of 2015
Instrument Type Quantum Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  11.5  CRISIL A/Stable    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  15-09-15  CRISIL A/Stable  CRISIL A/Negative 
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  1388  CRISIL A/Stable    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  15-09-15  CRISIL A/Stable/ CRISIL A1  CRISIL A/Negative/ CRISIL A1 
Table reflects instances where rating is changed or freshly assigned. 'No Rating Change' implies that there was no rating change under the release.
Annexure - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating
Bank Guarantee*@ 278 CRISIL A/Stable Bank Guarantee* 195 CRISIL A/Stable
Bank Guarantee**@ 260 CRISIL A/Stable Bank Guarantee@ 270 CRISIL A/Stable
Bank Guarantee***@ 300 CRISIL A/Stable Bank Guarantee# 180 CRISIL A/Stable
Bank Guarantee@# 350 CRISIL A/Stable Bank Guarantee^ 352 CRISIL A/Stable
Bank Guarantee@## 200 CRISIL A/Stable Bank Guarantee** 82.5 CRISIL A1
Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 11.5 CRISIL A/Stable Cash Credit## 30 CRISIL A/Stable
-- 0 -- Cash Credit^^ 20 CRISIL A/Stable
-- 0 -- Fund & Non Fund Based Limits*** 260 CRISIL A/Stable
-- 0 -- Overdraft@@ 10 CRISIL A/Stable
-- 0 -- Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 164.5 Withdrawal
-- 0 -- Proposed Non Fund based limits 1833 Withdrawal
Total 1399.5 -- Total 3397 --
* Fully interchangeable with import letter of credit (LC) and interchangeable with standby LC to the extent of Rs 102.5 crores
@ Interchangeable with LC to the extent of Rs 100 crores
# Interchangeable with LC
^ Interchangeable with LC to the extent of Rs 50 crores
** Fully interchangeable with import LC and interchangeable with standby LC to the extent of Rs 55 crores
## Interchangeable with working capital demand loan and bank guarantee
^^ Interchangeable with working capital demand loan, LC, and bank guarantee
@@ Interchangeable with line of credit for short-term loans
*** Interchangeable with the following limits:

     i) Working capital loan to the extent of Rs 30 crores with a sub-limit for cash flow finance of Rs 30 crores
     ii)
Overdraft facility to the extent of Rs 5 crores
    iii)
Fully interchangeable with import documentary credits with a sublimit for import deferred payment credits and buyer's credit of Rs 260 crores
    iv)
Bank guarantees to the extent of Rs 110 crores with a sub limit of Rs 65 crores for open-ended guarantees with stated tenor of 42 months

*@ Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 101 crore, Financial guarantee upto Rs.75 crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 102 crore,
**@ Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 175 crore, Financial guarantee upto Rs.175 crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 260 crore, Overdraft upto Rs.50 crore, Working capital upto Rs.30 crore, Buyer's credit upto Rs.260crore
***@ Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 300crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 100 crore, Cash credit upto Rs.30crore, LOU upto Rs.100 crore,
@# Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 350crore, Financial guarantee upto Rs.200 crore
@## Interchangeable with Bond & Guarantee upto Rs. 200 crore, Letter of Credit upto Rs. 200crore, Cash credit upto Rs.20crore.
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
Rating Criteria for Construction Industry
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Group Support

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