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| Product | Quantum (Rs. Cr) | Long Term Rating | Short Term Rating |
| Bank Loan Ratings | 76.00 | ACUITE AA- | Stable | Reaffirmed | - |
| Bank Loan Ratings | 50.00 | - | ACUITE A1+ | Assigned |
| Bank Loan Ratings | 640.00 | - | ACUITE A1+ | Reaffirmed |
| Total Outstanding | 766.00 | - | - |
| Total Withdrawn | 0.00 | - | - |
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Rating Rationale |
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Acuité has reaffirmed its long-term rating of 'ACUITE AA-’ (read as ACUITE double A minus) and short-term rating of ‘ACUITE A1+’ (read as ACUITE A one plus) on the Rs. 716 Cr. bank facilities of Plant Lipids Private Limited (PLPL). The outlook is 'Stable'.
Acuité has assigned its short-term rating of ‘ACUITE A1+’ (read as ACUITE A one plus) on the Rs. 50.00 Cr. bank facilities of Plant Lipids Private Limited (PLPL). Rationale for reaffirmation: The rating reaffirmation considers sustenance of its business risk profile despite competitive business environment in the overseas markets and healthy financial risk profile supported by low gearing and. The ratings take into cognizance moderate improvement in the scale of operations owing to increase in volumes and stable raw material costs. The rating also reflects the extensive experience of the promoters of more than four decades in the spices & oleoresins industry.
However, the rating remains constrained by intensive nature of working capital operations, susceptibility of revenue and margins to agro-climatic risks and foreign currency fluctuation risk. |
| About the Company |
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Plant Lipids Private Limited (PLPL) was incorporated in 1979 to manufacture spice oleoresins, spice oils, and ground spices. Mr. C. J. George, the chairman, and Mr. John George Nechupadom, the managing director, together manage the operations of the company, headquartered in Cochin. PLPL is a government-recognized export house. It has manufacturing facilities spread across Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, and Sri Lanka, with a capacity of 11,500 MTPA for ground spices and a combined capacity of 116,926 MTPA for spice oleoresins and spice oils.
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| About the Group |
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Plant Lipids Private Limited (PLPL) group having Plant Lipids Private Limited as the primary company along with its associate, subsidiaries and step-down subsidiaries is engaged in the manufacturing of spice oleoresins, spice oils and ground spice.
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| Unsupported Rating |
| Not applicable |
| Analytical Approach |
| Extent of Consolidation |
| •Full Consolidation |
| Rationale for Consolidation or Parent / Group / Govt. Support |
| Acuité has considered the consolidated business and financial risk profiles of the PLPL along with two wholly owned subsidiaries, three step down subsidiaries and three associates due to operational and financial linkages to arrive at this rating. All the entities are here in referred to as the PLPL group.
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| Key Rating Drivers |
| Strengths |
| Experienced management
Plant Lipids Private Limited (PLPL) was founded in 1979 by Mr. C.J. George and Mr. John George Nechupadom, who together bring over four decades of expertise in the spice oleoresins and oils industry. Under their leadership, the company has expanded its manufacturing capacity to 11,500 MTPA for ground spices and 116,926 MTPA for spice oleoresins and oils, across facilities located in South India and Sri Lanka. The group benefits from a seasoned and technically proficient management team, supported by a qualified second line of personnel. The promoters’ experience has fostered strong relationships with both suppliers and customers, ensuring consistent raw material availability and robust offtake. PLPL operates through two wholly owned subsidiaries: Plant Lipids Lanka (Pvt) Ltd in Sri Lanka, which processes pepper oleoresins and oils, and Plant Lipids UK Limited, which serves as a marketing arm. PLPL UK also oversees three step-down subsidiaries in Mexico, Germany, and Indonesia, all focused on marketing operations. Additional associate entities include ventures in Thailand and India. Approximately 90% of the group’s revenue is generated by its flagship entity, PLPL, while the remainder is contributed by its subsidiaries and associates. PLPL supports its group entities either by providing interest-bearing advances or by extending corporate guarantees for their loan facilities to support business operations.
Improved scale of operations
The group has reported YOY growth of 16.42 percent in revenues which stood at Rs. 2258.88 Cr. in FY2025 as against Rs.1940.28 Cr. in FY2024. The growth in revenue is on account of growth in the sales volumes. The Group has already registered revenues of Rs.1071 Cr. in H1 FY2026 , as against Rs 1069 Cr. in H1 2024-25. Profitability margin i.e. EBITDA margin improved and stood at 11.21 percent in FY2025 as against 10.01 percent in FY2024 The main reason for improvement in margin is on account of the decrease in Selling & distribution cost. Acuite believes that the group's operations will continue to be exposed to a certain degree of volatility in commodity demand-supply and price fluctuations. Healthy financial risk profile Group’s financial risk profile is healthy, marked by healthy capital structure with low gearing and healthy debt protection metrics. The net worth of the group stood at Rs.1553.38 Cr. as of March 31, 2025 against Rs.1391.49 Cr. as on March 31, 2024. The gearing of the group stood at 0.30 times as on March 31, 2025, against 0.33 times as on March 31, 2023. Debt protection metrics – Interest coverage ratio and debt service coverage ratio stood at 9.36 times and 7.79 times as on March 31, 2025, respectively as against 8.41 times and 6.98 times as on March 31, 2024, respectively. TOL/ TNW stood at 0.43 times as on March 31, 2025, as against 0.52 times as on March 31, 2024. The debt to EBITDA of the group stood at 1.71 times as on March 31, 2025, as against 1.94 times as on March 31, 2024. Acuité believes the financial risk profile to remain healthy over the medium term on account of the group's healthy capital structure and stable operations.
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| Weaknesses |
| Intensive nature of working capital operations
Group's working capital operations are intensive in nature as reflected through the gross current assets (GCA) of 284 days in FY2025 against 327 days in FY2024. However, there is a improvement in GCA days mainly on improvement in inventory days in FY2025 and it also includes high cash and bank balances , high OCA (other current assets). Inventory days stood at 173 days in FY2025 against 199 days in FY2024. The group on an average maintains inventory levels of 4 months due to seasonal nature of the raw material procurement. The debtor days stood at 73 days in FY2025 against 87 days in FY2024. However, the bank limit utilisation stood high at ~91 percent over the last 4 months ending October, 2025. Acuite believes, the working capital operations are expected to remain intensive due to nature of the operations.
Susceptibility of margins to agro climatic risks, forex risk and high competition The operating margins of the PLPL Group remain susceptible to agro-climatic conditions, foreign exchange volatility, and competitive pressures. The group primarily sources spices as raw materials, the pricing of which is closely tied to weather patterns and climatic factors. With exports accounting for approximately 30–35 percent of total sales and imports comprising 35–40 percent of total purchases, the group benefits from partial natural hedging. Nevertheless, it continues to face competition from established global players. |
| Rating Sensitivities |
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| Liquidity Position |
| Strong |
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The group has strong liquidity marked by healthy net cash accruals generation against nominal maturing debt repayment obligation. The group generated cash accruals of Rs.201.04 Cr. against nominal maturing repayment obligation of Rs.2.25 Cr. during the same period. Going forward, the group is expected to generate healthy net cash accruals against nominal maturing repayment obligations. The group maintained unencumbered cash and bank balances stood at Rs. 170.08 Cr. as on March 31, 2025. Liquid investment in, Mutual Funds, NCD’s, Venture capital funds, and Shares stood at Rs.144.35 Cr. as on March 31 2025. The current ratio stood healthy at 2.62 times as on March 31, 2025. Acuité believes that the liquidity of the group will remain strong on account of healthy net cash accruals generation and liquid investments. However, the bank limit utilisation stood high at ~91 percent for the fund based limits over the last 4 months ending October, 2025.
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| Outlook: Stable |
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| Other Factors affecting Rating |
| None |
| Particulars | Unit | FY 25 (Actual) | FY 24 (Actual) |
| Operating Income | Rs. Cr. | 2258.88 | 1940.28 |
| PAT | Rs. Cr. | 150.18 | 108.10 |
| PAT Margin | (%) | 6.65 | 5.57 |
| Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth | Times | 0.30 | 0.33 |
| PBDIT/Interest | Times | 9.36 | 8.41 |
| Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable) |
| Not applicable |
| Any Other Information |
| None |
| Applicable Criteria |
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• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm • Consolidation Of Companies: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-60.htm • Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm • Manufacturing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-59.htm |
| Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument |
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| *Annexure 2 - List of Entities (applicable for Consolidation or Parent / Group / Govt. Support) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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