| Established track record of operations and experienced promoters
SSG was established by common promoters in 2004. Its day-to-day operations are managed by Mr. Sanjay Agrawal and Mr. Anil Agrawal. The promoters have extensive experience of around four decades in the same line of business. MSEPL is engaged in the business of soya bean crushing, extraction of crude soya bean oil and soya bean de-oiled cake. It is also engaged in the trading of soya de-oiled cake and yellow corn while SSPL is engaged in refining of soya bean oil, sunflower oil and cotton seed oil. The group has been in operations for over a decade and has an established operational track record. This along with the promoters’ extensive experience has helped the group establish stable relationships with suppliers as well as clients and maintain its scale of operations. Some of the group’s major customers include Haldiram Foods International Limited, Marico Limited, and Chordia Food Products Limited Acuité believes that the group will continue to benefit through the promoters’ extensive industry experience over the medium term and established track record of operations.
Augmentation in operating performance
The group reported revenue of Rs. 3,441.58 Cr. in FY25 (Prov), reflecting a growth of 18.41 per cent over FY24, where revenue had moderated to Rs. 2,906.42 Cr. in FY24 due to price related challenges impacted the industry. The trading segment continued to expand its share, accounting for ~80 per cent of revenue in FY25 (prov.) as compared to 58 per cent in FY23, which is expected to expand in FY26 & FY27. Further, the gross revenue (without considering interparty transactions) in Q1FY26 of the group stood at Rs.2,074.16Cr. The profitability margins improved as EBITDA and PAT margins stood at 1.78 per cent and 0.66 per cent respectively in FY25 (prov.) as against 1.54 per cent and 0.44 per cent respectively in FY24.
The Group’s operating performance going forward will depend on price stability in edible oil and DOC, revenue mix and operational efficiency in manufacturing and its impact on revenues and profitability would remain as a key rating monitorable.
Efficient working capital management
The group’s working capital cycle remained efficient in FY25 (prov.), with Gross Current Assets (GCA) at 79 days in FY25 (Prov.) as against 80 days in FY24. Inventory days stood at 36 days in FY25 (prov.) as compared to 34 days in FY24, while debtor days stood at 36 days during the same period. The credit period extended to customers continued in the range of 15 to 40 days. The creditor days stood at 7 days in FY25 (prov.) as compared to 10 days in FY24. Further, the consolidated bank limit utilisation stood moderate at ~58 per cent for the period ending June 2025.
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| Moderate Financial risk profile
The group continues to maintain a moderate financial risk profile, supported by healthy net worth, moderate gearing, and average debt protection metrics. The tangible net worth improved to Rs. 234.42 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 (Prov.) from Rs. 197.79 Cr. as on March 31, 2024, driven by consistent accretion to reserves on the back of revenue growth. However, the gearing remained elevated at 2.11 times in FY25 (Prov.), as against 2.02 times in FY24, primarily due to continued reliance on working capital borrowings. Total Outside Liabilities to Tangible Net Worth (TOL/TNW) stood at 2.40 times in FY25 (prov.), slightly lower than 2.43 times in FY24, indicating some improvement in balance sheet leverage. Debt protection metrics showed an improving trend, with Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR) improving to 2.41 times in FY25 (Prov.) from 1.92 times in FY24, further Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) improved to 1.88 times from 1.50 times over the same period. Net Cash Accruals to Total Debt (NCA/TD) also stood stable at 0.06 times in FY25 (Prov.) from 0.05 times in FY24.
Overall, while the group’s financial flexibility remains adequate, its leverage and coverage indicators reflect a cautious recovery, and any debt funded capex can further deteriorate the financial risk profile thus remain a key rating monitorable.
Susceptibility of profitability to fluctuations in agro-based raw material price
SSG’s operations are exposed to the inherent risks associated with the agriculture-based commodity business, such as availability of raw materials, fluctuations in prices, and changes in government regulations. The group is engaged in the extracting and refining of edible oil. The prices of crude edible oil are volatile in nature hence the profitability is highly susceptible to the ability of the company to pass on the same to its customers. Soya bean is a one-time crop produced during October to January. Further, the demand-supply of soya bean oil and de-oiled cake (DOC) is affected by change in regulations in exporting and importing countries.
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