Rating Rationale
April 28, 2017 | Mumbai
Metro Cash and Carry India Private Limited
Rating Reaffirmed 
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.844 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL A/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Short Term Rating CRISIL A1 (Reassigned)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL reaffirmed rating on the long-term bank facilities Metro Cash and Carry India Pvt Ltd (MCCI) at 'CRISIL A/Stable', while assigned its 'CRISIL A1' rating to the short-term bank facilities.

CRISIL's continue to reflect the strong financial and operational support MCCI receives from its parent, Metro AG, Germany (Metro AG;  rated 'BBB-/Stable/A-3' by S&P Global Ratings), and its first mover advantage in the cash and carry business in India. These strengths are partly offset by a weak financial risk profile, driven by continued losses from operations, and its proposed store expansion plans.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Continued strong operational and financial support from parent, Metro AG
MCCI benefits immensely from the strong operational, managerial and financial support from Metro AG, the world's largest cash and carry retailer, which operates through the METRO and MAKRO brands worldwide. With cash losses likely over the medium term, CRISIL believes MCCI will receive requisite equity support from its parent to fund store additions, incremental working capital requirement and debt obligations.
 
Metro AG is planning to split into two independent companies by mid-2017, the Metro Group Wholesale and Food Specialist Company (Metro W& FS), and the Metro Group Consumer Electronics Company will be called Ceconomy, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. As per recent rationale by S&P Global, rating on new proposed entity Metro W&FS is at Preliminary 'BBB-/Stable/A-3'. Any change in rating of Metro AG or Metro W&FS will remain a key monitorable.
 
* First-mover advantage in wholesale cash-and-carry operations
MCCI's continues to enjoy first-mover advantage in Tier I cities; 12 out of its 23 stores are in Tier I cities. CRISIL believes MCCI's first-mover advantage in Tier I cites will enable it to withstand intensifying competition over the medium term.
 
Weakness
* Weak financial risk profile: The financial risk profile remains subdued because of operational losses and weak debt protection metrics. MCCI has a large capital expenditure (capex) plan and is expected to undertake an incremental capex of around Rs 250 crore annually over the medium term. This capex is aimed at both growing the existing markets as well as venturing into newer markets. CRISIL expects cash losses to continue over the medium term due to gestation losses of new stores.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes MCCI will continue to receive need-based support from Metro AG in the form of equity infusion for financing its cash losses, servicing its debt, and meeting its capex requirement over the medium term. The outlook may be revised to 'Positive' if achieving of cash break-even, mainly due to strong performance of its vintage stores, leads to an improvement in the financial risk profile. Conversely, the outlook may be revised to 'Negative' in case of weakening of the credit risk profile of Metro AG or if any change in the support philosophy of Metro AG.

About the Company

MCCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Metro Cash & Carry International GmbH, Germany, which is wholly owned by Metro AG. MCCI was established in 2001 and commenced commercial operations in 2003. Its registered office and headquarters are in Bengaluru. Its cash-and-carry business is based on the business-to-business (B2B) model that meets the needs of customers such as hotels, restaurants, caterers, traders, and institutions. It caters to both food and non-food segments, including general grocery, dairy products, media products, home electrics, household items, and garments for women, men, and children.
 
MCCI operates 23 cash-and-carry distribution centres (DCs) in India. There are six DCs in Bengaluru (two commenced operations in October and November 2003, the third and fourth commenced operations in December 2013 and 2015, respectively and remaining two in 2016), three in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh; November 2006, October 2010 and 2015), two in Mumbai (Maharashtra; May 2008 and November 2011), two in New Delhi (February 2012 and 2015), Kolkata (West Bengal; December 2008), Ludhiana (Punjab; September 2011), Jalandhar (Punjab; December 2011), Jaipur (Rajasthan; May 2012), Indore (Madhya Pradesh),  Amritsar (Punjab), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Surat, Lucknow, and Zirakpur (Punjab).
 
For the fiscal 2016, MCCI reported net sales of Rs 4635 Crore compared to net sales of Rs 3979 Crore for fiscal 2015.

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 Working Capital Demand Loan NA NA NA 400.0 CRISIL A1
NA Long-term Loan NA NA 17-Jun-21 50.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Long-term Loan NA NA 30-Jun-21 70.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Long-term Loan NA NA 31-Aug-18 75.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Long-term Loan NA NA 15-Jul-18 0.19 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Long-term Loan NA NA 30-Jun-21 50.0 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Proposed Long-Term Bank Loan Facility NA NA NA 98.81 CRISIL A/Stable
NA Proposed Working Capital Facility NA NA NA 100.0 CRISIL A/Stable
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2017 (History) 2016  2015  2014  Start of 2014
Instrument Type Quantum Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  844  CRISIL A/Stable/ CRISIL A1  26-04-17  CRISIL A/Stable    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  CRISIL A/Stable/ 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
Long Term Loan 245.19 CRISIL A/Stable Long Term Loan 245.19 CRISIL A/Stable
Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 98.81 CRISIL A/Stable Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 98.81 CRISIL A/Stable
Proposed Working Capital Facility 100 CRISIL A/Stable Proposed Working Capital Facility 100 CRISIL A/Stable
Working Capital Demand Loan 400 CRISIL A1 Working Capital Demand Loan 400 CRISIL A/Stable
Total 844 -- Total 844 --
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 Retailing Industry
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Parent Support
Criteria for rating Short-Term Debt (including Commercial Paper)
Mapping global scale ratings onto CRISIL scale

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