Press Release K.P.H Dream Cricket Private Limited
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Press Release K.P.H Dream Cricket Private Limited January 08, 2021 Rating Amount Facilities Rating1 Rating Action (Rs. crore) Reaffirmed and removed CARE A2 Short Term Bank Facilities 24.00* from Credit watch with (A Two) Developing Implications 24.00 Total Facilities (Rs. Twenty-Four Crore Only) Details of instruments/facilities in Annexure-1 *The bank facilities are backed by personal guarantees from Mr Mohit Burman, Ms Preity Zinta, Mr Ness Wadia and Mr Karan Paul, in the proportion of their shareholding in the company. Furthermore, these promoters have also provided an undertaking to meet the shortfall (if any) in the debt servicing and maintain their shareholding in the company during the tenor of the loan. Detailed Rationale & Key Rating Drivers CARE has reaffirmed the ratings assigned to the bank facilities of K.P.H Dream Cricket Private Limited (KPH) and removed it from ‘Credit Watch with Developing Implications’. The ratings were earlier placed on Credit Watch following the suspension of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 Season, by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), till further notice. The IPL was scheduled to start on March 29, 2020, was later postponed to April 15, 2020 and was subsequently suspended due to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to global health concerns and also due to lockdown measures implemented by the Government of India to contain the spread of the pandemic. The exact implications of the cancellation of the season on the credit risk profile of the company were to be monitored by CARE. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) eventually announced in August 2020 to conduct IPL-2020 in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament was subsequently conducted from September 19, 2020 to November 10, 2020. Although, the company faced minor loss of revenue from ticket sales as the location for all the matches was UAE, the operational & financial performance of the company is not expected to be much impacted. The ratings continue to derive strength from the strong promoter group, comfortable financial risk profile of the company and high worldwide popularity of the Twenty20 format of the game. These rating strengths are, however, partially offset by the risks associated with any decline in the popularity of the game going forward. Rating Sensitivities Positive Factors Sustained improvement in the scale of operations of the company going forward with company deriving income from prize money and increased proportion of income derived from ticketing & sponsorship revenue Improvement in the profitability of the company with PBILDT margins improving above 45% on sustained basis Increase in net worth of the company on a sustained basis Negative Factors Substantial increase in the working capital utilization levels on a sustained basis Decline in popularity of the tournament going forward Any breach in adherence by KPH to the clauses laid down in the BCCI-franchisee agreement Detailed description of the key rating drivers Key Rating Strengths String promoter group: The major shareholders of KPH belong to large business houses and are individuals of high repute. Mr Mohit Burman, holding majority stake in KPH, is the Chairman of Aviva Life Insurance and director in various Dabur group companies (including group’s flagship company, Dabur India Limited). Mr Ness Wadia is currently the managing director in The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited (BBTCL; rated, ‘CARE AA; Stable/CARE A1+’) and is on the board of various other group companies including Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Limited., Britannia Industries Limited, Go Airlines (India) Limited among others. Mr Karan Paul belongs to the diversified Apeejay Surrendra group which has business interests in various domains including hospitality, tea, shipping, etc. The other major shareholder, Ms Preity Zinta, is a well-known Bollywood actress. The bank facilities availed by KPH are backed by personal guarantees from Mr Mohit Burman, Ms. Preity Zinta, Mr Ness Wadia, and Mr Karan Paul, in the proportion of their shareholding in the company. These promoters have also provided an undertaking to meet shortfall in the debt servicing and maintain their shareholding in the company during the tenor of the loan from the bank. 1Complete definitions of the ratings assigned are available at www.careratings.com and in other CARE publications. 1 CARE Ratings Limited Press Release Comfortable overall financial risk profile: The major source of income of KPH is the revenue sharing by the IPL governing body, which has contributed more than 80% of the total revenue of the company in FY20. A portion of the revenue collected by the IPL governing body is from sale of the media rights and sponsorship revenue from various brands which is collected in a central pool and distributed in a fixed proportion (45% equally amongst the franchisees and remaining as per their rankings; from IPL-2018 onwards) among all the franchisees. The other major sources of revenue for the company include sponsorship revenue (that the company earns from shirt sponsorships, in-stadia advertisements, etc. and gate revenue which is garnered from the sale of tickets for the matches played in the home ground) and the prize money. These sources of revenue depend on the performance of the team and its popularity. The major expenses borne by the company include franchisee fees [20% of the total revenue garnered during the year; applicable from IPL-2018 (FY19) onwards] paid to the IPL governing body and the expenses incurred on player fees, etc. In FY20 (Audited), the total operating income of the company declined by about ~43% to Rs.214.84 cr. from Rs.374.80 cr. in FY19, mainly due to lower payment received from BCCI in FY20 which was on account of lower payment received from Star India as per the contract terms (25% media rights payment in FY19 and 18.75% each in the subsequent years). Also, the company had booked revenue for three of its fourteen matches played in IPL-12 in FY19 since they were played in the month of March-19, due to the tournament commencing earlier. This resulted in lower revenue in FY20. The PBILDT margins also declined to 39.37% in FY20 from 43.93% in FY19. However, the PAT margins increased to 28.29% in FY19 from 11.89% in FY19 as no extraordinary expenses were booked by the company in FY20. The company incurred an extraordinary expense of Rs.108.43 cr. in FY19, in the form of interest paid to directors for the unsecured loans infused by them in the past. No such expenses were borne by the company in FY20, which led to improvement in the PAT margins. During FY20, the company bought-back shares from its promoters amounting to Rs.19.25 cr. This led to decline in the tangible net worth of the company as on March 31, 2020. However, in the absence of any external debt outstanding, the company had nil long term debt to equity ratio and overall gearing ratio, as on March 31, 2020. Further, the debt coverage indicators of the company remained comfortable with interest coverage ratio of 2292.71x in FY20 (1178.66x in FY19) and nil total debt to GCA ratio, as on March 31, 2020 (Nil as on March 31, 2019). Key Rating Weaknesses Risk associated with any decline in popularity: Even though IPL has a high world-wide popularity because of the involvement of quality players from around the globe, its format and the popularity of the game itself, it remains to be seen how the fan following unravels in the time to come. Any decline in the tournament popularity (owing to controversies surrounding the tournament, the fact that too much cricket is being played or quality players deciding not to play in the tournament because of their national commitments, etc.) can lead to significant loss of revenue to the IPL governing body and subsequently to the franchisees, going forward. Prospects: There are certain clauses stipulated by the IPL governing body in the agreement signed with the franchisees. Any breach of these clauses can lead to suspension/cancellation of the franchisee. Apart from that, performance of the team remains a critical factor as the same decides the quantum of revenue garnered from ticketing sales, sponsorships and prize money. Liquidity: Strong: The current ratio and quick ratio of the company stood above unity at 1.57x, each as on March 31, 2020. The company had unencumbered cash & bank balance of ~Rs.11.79 crore, as on March 31, 2020 with working capital limits remaining in credit balance on an average in the last 12 months period ended November-2020. The company has a negative operating cycle with no debt repayment obligation in FY21 and no new term loan availment proposed going forward. Due to comfortable liquidity position, the company has bought back shares (of Rs.19.25 Cr.) from its promoters as per the existing shareholding pattern and has also paid dividend (Rs.41.51 Cr.) to its shareholders in FY20 from the cash and bank balances maintained with the company. With nil overall gearing, as on March 31, 2020, the issuer has sufficient gearing headroom, to raise additional debt, if required. Analytical approach: Standalone Applicable Criteria Criteria on assigning ‘Outlook’ and ‘credit watch’ to Credit Ratings CARE’s Policy on Default Recognition Financial ratios – Non-Financial Sector Liquidity analysis of non-financial sector entities Criteria for short term instruments 2 CARE Ratings Limited Press Release About the Company KPH was incorporated in March 2008, with Dabur group's Mr Mohit Burman (having 48% shareholding in KPH, as on March 31, 2020), Wadia group's Mr Ness Wadia (23%), Bollywood actress Ms Preity Zinta (23%), and Mr Karan Paul of the Apeejay Surendera Group (6%) holding major stake in the company.