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JANUARY 14, 2015 CARE REVISES THE RATING ASSIGNED TO BANK FACILITIES OF ANANDA OFFSET PRIVATE LIMITED Ratings Amount Facilities Ratings1 Remarks (Rs. crore) CARE A- Revised from CARE A Long term Bank Facilities 17.05 (20.20) (Single A minus) (Single A)

Rating Rationale The revision in the rating takes into consideration weakening in the financial profile of ABP Pvt. Ltd. (ABP; rated CARE A-/ CARE A1, revised from CARE A/CARE A1), a group company with whom AOPL has strong operational linkage since it derives majority of its revenue in the form of printing income from ABP. The aforesaid rating continues to draw strength from considerable experience of the promoters having an established track record, moderate financial performance in FY14 (refers to the period April 1 to March 31) with comfortable gearing levels. The rating is, however, constrained by relatively small size of the company and intense competition in the private radio FM industry. The ability of the company to increase advertising revenue from the radio business in the face of stiff competition & improve its profitability and capital structure will remain the key rating sensitivities.

Background Ananda Offset Pvt. Ltd (AOPL), incorporated in 1970, belongs to the ABP group - an established media conglomerate of the country. The company was promoted by Late Mr Ashok Kumar Sarkar, son of Late Mr Prafulla Sarkar, the promoter of the group’s flagship company, ABP. AOPL is engaged in the business of printing various magazines/publications and newspapers of ABP on job work basis. The company is also into media and entertainment business through radio station ‘Friends 91.9 FM’. ABP group is the leading publisher of Bengali daily and English daily (‘’ and ‘’ respectively) in West Bengal. Besides print media, the group has presence in electronic media via Media Content & Communication Services (India) Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS; rated ICRA BBB+), which owns three renowned news channels – ‘ABP News’ (Hindi), ‘ABP Ananda’ (Bengali) and ‘ABP Majha’ (Marathi). Further, the management of the ABP group intends to carry out a financial restructuring exercise within the group, whereby certain debt funded non-yielding exposure appearing in the books of ABP is likely to get transferred to AOPL by FY15. AOPL is currently looked after by Mr Apurba Kumar Sengupta, Executive Director, under the overall guidance of Mr and Mr Arup Sarkar, the current promoters of ABP. In FY14, AOPL earned PBILDT and loss of Rs.4.83 crore (Rs.3.57 crore in FY13) and Rs.0.26 crore (loss of Rs.1.29 crore in FY13), respectively, on total operating income of Rs.39.11 crore (Rs.36.03 crore in FY13). During M8FY15 (refers to the period April 01 to November 30), AOPL reported a PAT of around Rs.0.48 crore on a turnover of Rs.30.0 crore. Analyst Contact Name: Ayush Poddar Tel: 033-40181637 Mobile: 9831139739 Email:[email protected]

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1 Credit Analysis & Research Limited

Brief Rationale

CARE has classified instruments rated by it on the basis of complexity. This classification is available at www.careratings.com. Investors/market intermediaries/regulators or others are welcome to write to [email protected] for any clarifications.

Disclaimer: CARE’s ratings are opinions on credit quality and are not recommendations to sanction, renew, disburse or recall the concerned bank facilities or to buy, sell or hold any security. CARE has based its ratings on information obtained from sources believed by it to be accurate and reliable. CARE does not, however, guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. Most entities whose bank facilities/instruments are rated by CARE have paid a credit rating fee, based on the amount and type of bank facilities/instruments. In case of partnership/proprietary concerns, the rating assigned by CARE is based on the capital deployed by the partners/proprietor and the financial strength of the firm at present. The rating may undergo change in case of withdrawal of capital or the unsecured loans brought in by the partners/proprietor in addition to the financial performance and other relevant factors.

2 Credit Analysis & Research Limited

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CONTACT Head Office Mumbai

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AHMEDABAD JAIPUR Mr. Mehul Pandya Mr. Harsh Raj Sankhla 32, Titanium, Prahaladnagar Corporate Road, 304, Pashupati Akshat Heights, Plot No. D-91, Satellite, Ahmedabad - 380 015 Madho Singh Road, Near Collectorate Circle, Cell: +91-98242 56265 Bani Park, Jaipur - 302 016. Tel: +91-79-4026 5656 Cell: +91 – 94139 69100 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +91-141-402 0213 / 14 E-mail: [email protected] BENGALURU Mr. Dinesh Sharma Unit No. 1101-1102, 11th Floor, Prestige Meridian II, Ms. Priti Agarwal No. 30, M.G. Road, Bangalore - 560 001. 3rd Floor, Prasad Chambers, (Shagun Mall Bldg.) Cell: +91-99000 41975 10A, Shakespeare Sarani, Kolkata - 700 071. Tel: +91-80-4115 0445, 4165 4529 Cell: +91-98319 67110 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +91-33- 4018 1600 E-mail: [email protected] CHANDIGARH Mr. Sajan Goyal NEW DELHI 2nd Floor, S.C.O. 196-197, Sector 34-A, Ms. Swati Agrawal Chandigarh - 160 022. 13th Floor, E-1 Block, Videocon Tower, Cell: +91 99888 05650 Jhandewalan Extension, New Delhi - 110 055. Tel: +91-172-5171 100 / 09 Cell: +91-98117 45677 Email: [email protected] Tel: +91-11-4533 3200 E-mail: [email protected] CHENNAI Mr. V Pradeep Kumar PUNE Unit No. O-509/C, Spencer Plaza, 5th Floor, Mr. Rahul Patni No. 769, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002. 9th Floor, Pride Kumar Senate, Cell: +91 98407 54521 Plot No. 970, Bhamburda, Senapati Bapat Road, Tel: +91-44-2849 7812 / 0811 Shivaji Nagar, Pune - 411 015. Email: [email protected] Cell: +91-78754 33355 Tel: +91-20- 4000 9000 HYDERABAD E-mail:[email protected] Mr. Saikat Roy 401, Ashoka Scintilla, 3-6-502, Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad - 500 029. CIN - L67190MH1993PLC071691 Tel: +91-40-4010 2030 E-mail: [email protected]

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