Product Quantum (Rs. Cr) Long Term Rating Short Term Rating
Bank Loan Ratings 45.00 ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned -
Bank Loan Ratings 15.00 ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Reaffirmed -
Total Outstanding Quantum (Rs. Cr) 60.00 - -
 
Rating Rationale
Acuité has reaffirmed its long-term rating of ‘ACUITE BB+’ (read as ACUITE double B plus) on the Rs. 15.00 crore bank facilities of Grameen Shakti Microfinance Private Limited (GSMPL). The outlook is ‘Stable’.

Acuité has assigned its long-term rating of ‘ACUITE BB+’ (read as ACUITE double B plus) on the Rs. 45.00 crore bank facilities of Grameen Shakti Microfinance Private Limited (GSMPL). The outlook is ‘Stable’.


Rating Rationale
The rating factors in experienced management, established presence in its areas of operation and moderate capitalization level. GSMPL’s Capital Adequacy ratio (CAR) reduced to 26.44 percent as on March 31, 2023, from 27.24 percent as on March 31, 2022, on account of increase in risk weighted assets. The rating also factors improvement in AUM owing to growth in disbursements in Managed portfolio. The company’s AUM stood at Rs 100.75 Cr. as on March 31, 2023, in comparison to Rs 56.52 Cr as on March 31, 2022. The rating also factors adequate asset quality due to prudent underwriting practices. The company reported a GNPA (own book) of 1.91 percent and NNPA (own book) of 0.96 percent as on Mar 31, 2023.  The rating is however constrained by limited scale of operations, geographical concentration  and modest financial performance albeit improving. Improvement in earnings profile is due to growth in AUM and disbursements.  The company reported a PAT of Rs 1.63 Cr. during FY 2022-23 as compared to Rs 1.57 Cr. during FY 2021-22 . The company reported a ROAA of 2.57 percent as on March 31, 2023 compared to 2.91 percent as on March 31, 2022.

About the company
West Bengal based Grameen Shakti Microfinance Private Limited (GSMPL) is a non-deposit taking NonBanking Financial Company – Micro Finance Institution (NBFC-MFI). The company is promoted by Mr. Ganesh Chandra Modak. Mr. Modak has been engaged in micro financing activities since 2004 when he established a society named Society for Model Grambikash Kendra for the social welfare and development along with microfinancing activities. In 2016, he then acquired an existing NBFC Srija Chemo Private Limited and renamed it to Grameen Shakti Microfinance Private Limited. GSMPL extends micro-credit primarily to women borrowers through Joint Liability Group (JLG) model. The company operates in the states of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand through a network of 32 branches across 17 districts as on July 31, 2023.
 
Standalone (Unsupported) Rating
­None
 
Analytical Approach
Acuite has taken a standalone approach to arrive at the rating.
 

Key Rating Drivers

Strength
­­Established presence in micro-finance segment.
GSMPL commenced its micro-finance operations in 2017, extending micro-credit to women borrowers engaged in income-generating activities under Joint Liability Group (JLG) model. The company caters to the rural and semi-urban areas of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. GSMPL focuses on providing financial assistance by way of providing micro-credit to the poor and underprivileged women in the society who are engaged in some income-generating activities. The company commenced its operations in West Bengal and has expanded its presence in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand with a network of 28 branches across 17 districts with a loan portfolio of Rs. 100.74 Cr. as on June 30, 2023 (March 31, 2023 100.75 Cr.). GSMPL is promoted by Mr. Ganesh Chandra Modak who has around two decades of experience in microfinance segment. He has been previously engaged with South Asia Research Society (NGO-MFI) since 1992 before establishing Society for Model Grambikash Kendra in 2004. Mr. Modak is well supported by his management team having experience in microfinance segment. As on FY2022, GSMPL has reported capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and leverage of 26.44 percent  and 3.17 times (March 31, 2022: 27.24 percent and 3.13 times). As on June 30, 2023, CAR and leverage stood at 28.98 percent and 2.89 times respectively, the improvement in CAR is mainly on account of growth in off-book portfolio. The company has Rs. 34.5 Cr. of funds in pipeline from various banks like State Bank of India , Union Bank of India and Finstar Capital and its BC partners. The company has BC partnership with Ananya Finance for Inclusive growth, Monexo Fintech Private Ltd, ESAF Small Finance Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) and SMGBK. GSMPL is also under final round of discussion with SIDBI for raising Tier 2 capital of Rs 3 Cr. which is expected to be disbsured by Q3FY24.
Acuité believes that established presence of the promoters in the microfinance segment will be central to support the business risk profile of the company in the near to medium term.
Weakness
­­Modest scale of operations and Financial Risk Profile:
GSMPL has been in the micro-finance lending segment since 2017. The company has been able to build a portfolio of Rs. 100.75 Cr. as on Mar 30, 2023. Of the total AUM of Rs 100.75 Cr. , on book portfolio comprised Rs 57.13 Cr. (~57 percent) with the balance Rs 43.62 Cr. (`43 percent) being off book portfolio.  The company’s AUM stood at Rs 56.52 Cr. as on March 31, 2022, as compared to Rs 44.43 Cr. as on March 31, 2021.  The company reported a PAT of Rs 1.63 Cr. during FY 2022-23 as compared to 1.57 Cr. during FY 2021-22. The company reported a ROAA of 2.57 percent as on March 31, 2023, compared to 2.91 percent as on March 31, 2022. The company’s NIM reduced to 7.76 percent as on March 31, 2023 as compared to 8.12 percent as on March 31, 2022 this was due to muted movement in the interest income resulting from moderate improvement in owned portfolio.

Risk inherent to microfinance segment; challenging operating environment may result in elevated stress in asset quality:
The activities of microfinance companies like GSMPL are exposed to concentration risks. GSMPL has presence in 3 states with a concentration in West Bengal (~44 percent), Bihar (~41 percent) and Jharkhand (~16 percent) of total portfolio as on June 30, 2022. This exposes the company to high geographical concentration risk. Thus, the company's performance is expected to remain exposed to the competitive landscape in these regions and the occurrence of events such as natural calamities, which may adversely impact the credit profile of the borrowers. Besides geography, the company will be exposed to competition and any changes in the regulatory framework, thereby impacting the credit profile of GSMPL.
Acuité believes that constraining additional slippages while maintaining the growth in the loan portfolio will be crucial.
Rating Sensitivity
 
  • Impact of natural calamities  on ongoing operations
  • Movement in collection efficiency and asset quality
  • Movement in profitability metrics
  • Ability to raise funds
 
All Covenants
­GSMPL is subject to covenants stipulated by its lenders/investors in respect of various parameters like capital structure, asset quality, among others. 
 
Liquidity Position
Adequate
­GSMPL’s overall liquidity profile remains moderate in near to medium term. GSMPL’s borrowings stood at ~Rs. 46 crore with a gearing of ~2.89 times as on Jun 30, 2023 (provisional). The company also avails a cash credit facility almost fully utilized. It has maintained cash and bank balance of ~Rs. 2.15 crore as on June 30, 2023 (Provisional). As per ALM statement dated June 30, 2023, the company’s assets and liabilities are well matched with no deficit in any of the time buckets upto 5 years.
 
Outlook: Stable
­Acuité believes that GSMPL will maintain a 'Stable' outlook over the medium term supported by its established presence in the microfinance segment. The outlook may be revised to 'Positive' in case of higher than expected growth in the loan portfolio while maintaining asset quality and capital structure. The outlook may be revised to 'Negative' in case of any headwinds faced in scaling up of operations or in case of significant deterioration in asset quality, thereby impacting profitability metrics
 
Other Factors affecting Rating
­None
 
Key Financials - Standalone / Originator
­
Particulars Unit FY23 (Actual) FY22 (Actual)
Total Assets Rs. Cr. 68.41 58.28
Total Income* Rs. Cr. 7.23 5.28
PAT Rs. Cr. 1.63 1.57
Net Worth Rs. Cr. 15.86 13.65
Return on Average Assets (RoAA) (%) 2.57 2.91
Return on Average Net Worth (RoNW) (%) 11.03 12.21
Total Debt/Tangible Net worth (Gearing) Times 3.17 3.13
Gross NPA (Own Book) (%) 1.91 0.03
Net NPA (Own Book) (%) 0.96 0.01
*Total income equals to Net Interest Income
 
Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable):
­None
 
Any other information
­None
 
Applicable Criteria
• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm
• Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm
• Non-Banking Financing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-44.htm

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument
­­In order to inform the investors about complexity of instruments, Acuité has categorized such instruments in three levels: Simple, Complex and Highly Complex. Acuite’ s categorisation of the instruments across the three categories is based on factors like variability of the returns to the investors, uncertainty in cash flow patterns, number of counterparties and general understanding of the instrument by the market. It has to be understood that complexity is different from credit risk and even an instrument categorized as 'Simple' can carry high levels of risk. For more details, please refer Rating Criteria “Complexity Level Of Financial Instruments” on www.acuite.in
 

Date Name of Instruments/Facilities Term Amount (Rs. Cr) Rating/Outlook
15 Mar 2023 Proposed Bank Facility Long Term 15.00 ACUITE BB+ | Stable (Reaffirmed)
15 Dec 2021 Proposed Bank Facility Long Term 15.00 ACUITE BB+ | Stable (Reaffirmed)
15 Sep 2020 Proposed Bank Facility Long Term 10.00 ACUITE BB+ | Stable (Upgraded from ACUITE BB | Stable)
Term Loan Long Term 5.00 ACUITE BB+ | Stable (Upgraded from ACUITE BB | Stable)
­

Lender’s Name ISIN Facilities Date Of Issuance Coupon Rate Maturity Date Quantum (Rs. Cr.) Complexity Level Rating
Not Applicable Not Applicable Proposed Long Term Bank Facility Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable 15.00 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Reaffirmed
Not Applicable Not Applicable Proposed Long Term Bank Facility Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable 18.75 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned
State Bank of India Not Applicable Term Loan Not available Not available Not available 15.33 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned
Union Bank of India Not Applicable Term Loan Not available Not available Not available 1.23 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned
Union Bank of India Not Applicable Term Loan Not available Not available Not available 3.35 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned
Punjab National Bank Not Applicable Term Loan Not available Not available Not available 4.40 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned
Canara Bank Not Applicable Term Loan Not available Not available Not available 1.94 Simple ACUITE BB+ | Stable | Assigned

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