Margadarsi Marketing Private Limited

March 25, 2019

Summary of rated instruments Previous Rated Amount Current Rated Amount Instrument* Rating Action (Rs. crore) (Rs. crore) Cash credit 12.00 12.00 [ICRA]BB-(Stable) reaffirmed Unallocated limits 4.51 4.51 [ICRA]BB-(Stable) reaffirmed Total 16.51 16.51 *Instrument details are provided in Annexure-1

Rationale The rating reaffirmation is constrained by operational losses in the past four years owing to high fixed overheads in both textile retailing and paper distribution business; high competition prevailing in the apparel retailing business with presence of several large and regional players constraining its profitability margins in Kalanjali division; and muted revenue growth expected in FY2019 with revenues at Rs 150.0 crore due to closure of retail outlets. Further, Margadarsi Marketing Private Limited closed seven stores in the last two years which has reduced the operational losses in Kalanjali division. The rating is also constrained by high geographic concentration of revenues with and Andhra markets together contributing over ~95% of revenues; and high working capital requirement characterised by high inventory holding inherent in the textile retailing business.

However, the rating positively factors in MMPL being as part of the Ramoji group with its flagship company Ushodaya Enterprises Private Limited (UEPL, rated at [ICRA]AA (Stable) /[ICRA]A1+) from where it receives considerable financial support by way of advances for the services rendered, leverage its large customer base of (regional daily issue by UEPL) with discounts for its ad campaigns in ETV network & Eenadu paper and lower rentals to be paid at 2% of sales from the building facilities leased to MMPL. Further, the commission paid to MMPL for acting as a marketing and distribution arm for UEPL has increased to Rs. 3.25 crore from earlier Rs. 3.0 crore which is expected to improve operating margins in near term. The rating also considers timely equity infusion from promoters to support the cash losses for the past three years.

Outlook: Stable The ‘Stable’ outlook reflects ICRA belief that MMPL’s revenues will grow at modest pace in near term while the company is expected to report operating losses. The outlook may be revised to ‘Positive’ in case MMPL achieves breakeven at operating level. The outlook may be revised to ‘Negative’ if MMPL’s operating losses increase further or with increased debt levels to fund the cash losses

Key rating drivers

Credit strengths Strong operational linkage with UEPL: MMPL is part of Ramoji group with its flagship company being Ushodaya Enterprises Private Limited (UEPL). UEPL runs the Eenadu newspaper, which is the largest circulated daily in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. MMPL receives operational support from UEPL by advertising “Kalanjali” brand in Eenadu paper, and rental support for its outlets with 2% royalty paid on sales to properties belonging to promoter group.

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Long standing experience of promoter group in the retail business: The textile retailing operations are overseen by Ms. Sailaja, who is Mr. ’s daughter in law and is involved in the apparel retail industry since 1995. Strong group support has also aided in terms of better bargaining power with the customers / suppliers.

Credit challenges Revenues remain stagnant over the past 3 years: MMPL’s operating income comprises income from two divisions – Kalanjali division and paper distribution & ad selling business. The revenues from Kalanjali division has been on a declining trend in the last 4 years owing to closure of 7 stores in the past 2 years; the revenues declined to Rs. 88.1 crore in FY2018 from Rs. 159.6 crore in FY2015. The paper distribution division receives fixed income for paper distribution and commission income on sale of ad space in Eenadu’s newspaper.

Operational losses due to adverse cost structure: The operational losses have declined over the years from -2.8% in FY2014 to -2.4% in H1FY2019 with closure of 7 showrooms. The operating losses in Kalanjali division reduced to -1.4% in H1FY2019 compared to -6.3% in H1FY2018 with decrease in cost over heads. However, the losses in paper distribution increased due to increased employee expenses. Around 700 employees work in the paper distribution who undertake door to door promotion, subscription fee collection and responsible for selling ad spaces to customers.

High geographic concentration with presence limited to Andhra and Telangana markets: MMPL has presence limited to Telangana and Andhra markets together contributing to ~95% of revenues. The entity is currently operated out of 7 retail outlets across , Bangalore, Vijayawada, Vizag and Tirupati markets.

Liquidity Position: The company’s liquidity position is weak with average utilisation of 76% of sanctioned limits in the last 12 months ended February 2019. As on February 28, 2019, the company has undrawn cash credit limits of Rs. 2.50 crore. The fund flow from operations turned positive in FY2018 and H1FY2019 on account of decrease in working capital requirements with closure of stores. Analytical approach: Analytical Approach Comments Applicable Rating Methodologies Corporate Credit Rating Methodology Parent/Group Support Not applicable Consolidation / Standalone NA

About the company: Margadarsi Marketing Private Limited (MMPL) was incorporated in 1975. MMPL has two divisions namely Kalanjali and Distribution & Ad selling (DAS) divisions. MMPL is part of the larger Ramoji group with its flagship brand of Eenadu, a regional daily circulated in Andhra and Telangana markets. Kalanjali division is into the business of apparel retail through its 7 operational retail outlets spread across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore markets and trading of handicrafts through its retail store in Saifabad. Distribution and Ad Selling division has three different revenue sources. The first one is the commission earned through selling magazines like Bhakthi (regional religious issue) and Outlook (monthly magazine by Raheja group). The second source of revenue is retail ad space selling for Eenadu’s supplement paper (district specific) where it receives 15% commission. The third revenue source is through the logistics and door-to- door promotion of newspaper distribution.

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Key financial indicators FY2017 FY2018 H1 FY2019

Operating Income (Rs. crore) 162.0 154.0 76.1 PAT (Rs. crore) -6.9 -5.4 -2.8 OPBDIT/ OI (%) -2.7% -2.4% -2.4% RoCE (%) -16.0% -13.1% -13.9%

Total Debt/ TNW (times) 0.5 0.7 0.8 Total Debt/ OPBDIT (times) -2.7 -3.3 -6.4 Interest coverage (times) -4.1 -3.1 -2.1

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA: Not applicable Not Applicable

Any other information: Not Applicable

Rating history for last three years: Chronology of Rating History for the past 3 Current Rating (FY2019) years Amount Date & Date & Rated Amount Date & Date & Rating Rating in Rating in (Rs. Outstanding Rating in FY2018 FY2017 FY2016 Instrument Type crore) (Rs Crore) Mar 2019 Feb 2018 Dec 2016 Dec 2015 1 Cash Credit Long Term 12.00 - [ICRA]BB- [ICRA]BB- [ICRA]BB- [ICRA]BB- (Stable) (Stable) (Stable) (Stable) 2 Unallocated Long Term 4.51 - [ICRA]BB- [ICRA]BB- [ICRA]BB- [ICRA]BB- limits (Stable) (Stable) (Stable) (Stable) 3 Non Fund Short term 0.00 - - [ICRA]A4; [ICRA]A4 [ICRA]A4 based withdrawn

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

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Annexure-1: Instrument Details Instrument Date of Issuance Coupon Maturity Amount Rated Current Rating and ISIN No Name / Sanction Rate Date (Rs. crore) Outlook NA Cash credit Oct 2018 11.10% - 12.00 [ICRA]BB-(Stable) NA Unallocated - - - 4.51 [ICRA]BB-(Stable) Source: MMPL

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ANALYST CONTACTS Mr. K. Ravichandran Mr. R Srinivasan +91 44 4596 4301 +91 44 4596 4315 [email protected] [email protected]

Mr. Vinay Kumar G Mr. Naren Rajeev Kumar K +91 40 4067 6533 +91 40 4067 6529 [email protected] [email protected]

RELATIONSHIP CONTACT Jayanta Chatterjee +91 80 4332 6401 [email protected]

MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT

Ms. Naznin Prodhani Tel: +91 124 4545 860 [email protected]

Helpline for business queries:

+91-9354738909 (open Monday to Friday, from 9:30 am to 6 pm) [email protected]

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