March 06, 2017 (Revised) Rideema Toll Bridge Private Limited

Instruments* Amount Rated Rating Action (Rs. crore) Term Loans 70.0 [ICRA]BB+(SO) (stable); revised from [ICRA]BBB-(SO) (stable) Non Fund Based Limits 52.2 [ICRA] BB+(SO) (stable); revised from [ICRA]BBB-(SO) (stable) *Instrument details are provided in Annexure-1

Rating Action ICRA has downgraded the long-term rating outstanding on the Rs. 70.00 crore term loans and Rs. 52.20 crore non-fund based facilities of Rideema Toll Bridge Private Limited (RTBPL/the company) to [ICRA]BB+(SO)1 (pronounced ICRA double B plus structured obligation) from [ICRA]BBB-(SO) (pronounced ICRA triple B minus structured obligation) with stable outlook.

Rationale The rating revision factors in the lower than expected traffic growth in recent years on the project stretch which has weakened the liquidity profile of the company. Moreover, the company is required to meet the annual premium payment upfront at the beginning of the year to Hoogly River Bridge Commissioner (HRBC) for which it avails a one-year term loan without any moratorium period which further puts pressure on its liquidity profile. The project remains exposed to interest rate risk owing to the floating nature of interest rates and also to alternate route risk given the threat of diversion of traffic to the Bridge which is a toll-free competing route.

However, the rating positively factors in the long-standing experience of the holding company viz. MEP Infrastructure Developers Limited, with an established presence in toll management. The rating also takes into account the additional credit support from the escrow mechanism for toll receipts coupled with the creation of a DSRA equivalent to one-month debt servicing as part of sanction terms. The rating positively factors in the importance of the stretch as the toll plaza is located on the arterial route connecting Howrah and .

Going forward, improvement in the traffic volumes and thus toll revenues along with timely support from the parent for meeting any cash flow mismatches remains critical from a credit perspective.

Key rating drivers Credit Strengths ● Wholly- owned subsidiary of MEP Infrastructure Developers Limited which has a demonstrated track record of operations in toll management ● Important stretch on arterial route connecting Howrah and Kolkata with an established traffic density ● Debt Servicing Reserve Account (DSRA) equivalent to 1-month debt servicing to be maintained as part of the sanction terms; however, the company currently maintains DSRA equivalent to two month debt servicing

1 While the lender has the right to dip into the DSRA, the rated instrument does not have a DSRA invocation mechanism

Credit Weakness ● The project cash flows remain weak on account of high annual premium payable upfront to Hoogly River Bridge Commissioner (HRBC) ● Low traffic growth has resulted in moderate increase in revenues over the last two years, resulting in moderate debt coverage indicators ● Exposure to interest rate risk considering the floating nature of interest rates for the project ● Cash flows for the project are highly sensitive to traffic growth rates; any moderation in the traffic growth rates from anticipated levels or large deviation from estimated base traffic, leads to weakened project metrics ● Threat of diversion of traffic to which is a major competing route on account of being toll-freeof traffic to Howrah Bridge which is a major competing route on account of being toll-free

Description of key rating drivers highlighted above: RTBL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd. Its project entails collection of toll including handling, operation, maintenance, renewing and renovation, upgrading of existing electronically operated toll collection system at Vidyasagar Setu between Kolkata and Howrah for a period of 60 months from the commencement of toll collection i.e. September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2018. The company is required to pay an upfront amount of Rs 52.20 crore each year in the month of September to HRBC as premium for the toll collection rights.

Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is located over the River Hooghly in Kolkata and is an important route connecting Howrah with Kolkata. The bridge was completed in October 1992 and has an established traffic record. However, the original Howrah Bridge is a key alternate route for the traffic which is toll-free and is in close proximity to the thereby posing as a potential threat for diverting traffic from the company’s project stretch.

The traffic growth has been moderate at the site and the monthly toll collections have remained in the range of Rs. 5.3 crore to Rs. 6.3 crore over the last 30 months. The per day toll collection has seen moderate increase from Rs. 17.7 lakh in FY2014 to Rs. 19.4 lakh during H1FY1017. In FY2016, the company’s revenue growth remained muted at ~5% given the modest traffic growth and fixed toll rates.

The operating profits for the company have remained subdued on account of the high upfront premium of Rs.52.2 crore payable annually. The high interest burden along with subdued operating profits resulted in net losses in FY2016 for the company.

The liquidity profile of the company continues to remain modest given the high upfront premium payment to HRBC annually. The company partly finances the premium payment through one-year loans without any moratorium period which further adds to the liquidity pressure. This along with modest increase in revenues has resulted in high dependence on promoter group for timely debt servicing. The company has, however, created DSRA of about Rs. 8.3 crore which is a credit positive.

Analytical approach: Not Applicable

Links to applicable Criteria Corporate Credit Ratings: A Note on Methodology Rating Methodology for Toll Road Projects

About the Company:

RTBPL is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) incorporated in November 2012 by MEP Infrastructure Group to collect the toll levied at the toll plaza at Vidyasagar Setu between Kolkata and Howrah for a period of 60 months from the commencement of toll collection i.e. September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2018. Accordingly, RTBPL has been collecting toll since September 1, 2013 (“Appointed Date”). The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd. The project was awarded by HRBC to be executed on Operate Maintain and Transfer (OMT) basis. The company quoted the highest premium of Rs. 261 crore payable to HBRC for a five-year period in equal annual instalments of Rs. 52.20 crore payable at the beginning of each year.

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA: Not Applicable

Any other information: Not Applicable

Rating History for last three years:

Table: Rating History Chronology of Rating Current Rating History for the past 3 years Name of Rated S.No Instrument Type amount Month-year & Month- year & Rating in

(Rs. Crore) Rating FY2016

March 2017 November 2015

Long 70.00 1 Term Loans [ICRA]BB+(SO) Term [ICRA]BBB-(SO) (Stable) (Stable)

Long 2 Non-Fund Based 52.20 [ICRA]BB+(SO) Term [ICRA]BBB-(SO) (Stable) (Stable)

Complexity level of the rated instrument: ICRA has classified various instruments based on their complexity as "Simple", "Complex" and "Highly Complex". The classification of instruments according to their complexity levels is available on the website www.icra.in

Annexure-1 Details of Instruments Name of the Date of Coupon Maturity Size of the Current Rating and instrument issuance rate Date issue (Rs. Cr) Outlook Term Loans September [ICRA]BB+(SO) - 12.0% 70.00 2018 (Stable) Non-fund Based [ICRA]BB+(SO) - - - 52.20 (Stable) Source: RTBPL

Name and Contact Details of the Rating Analyst(s):

K. Ravichandran Shubham Jain Abhishek Dafria +91 44 4596 4301 +91-124-4545 306 +91 22 6169 3344 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Pratik Jain +91 22 6169 3330 [email protected]

Name and Contact Details of Relationship Contacts:

L Shivakumar ++91-22-6114 3406 [email protected]

About ICRA Limited: ICRA Limited was set up in 1991 by leading financial/investment institutions, commercial banks and financial services companies as an independent and professional investment Information and Credit Rating Agency. Today, ICRA and its subsidiaries together form the ICRA Group of Companies (Group ICRA). ICRA is a Public Limited Company, with its shares listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. The international Credit Rating Agency Moody’s Investors Service is ICRA’s largest shareholder. For more information, visit www.icra.in

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