Press Release

Press Release

November 04, 2025

M E Energy Private Limited
Rating Reaffirmed

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating
Bank Loan Ratings	10.00	ACUITE BBB+ \| Positive \| Reaffirmed	-
Bank Loan Ratings	40.00	-	ACUITE A2 \| Reaffirmed
Total Outstanding	50.00	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	-	-

Rating Rationale

Acuite has reaffirmed its long-term rating to 'ACUITE BBB+' (read as ACUITE triple B plus) and short-term rating to 'ACUITE A2' (read as ACUITE A two) on the Rs. 50.00 crore bank facilities of M E Energy Private Limited (MEEPL). The outlook is revised from 'Stable' to 'Positive'.

Rationale for rating reaffirmation and change in outlook
The revision in the outlook from ‘Stable’ to 'Positive' reflects the expected synergetic benefits at financial and business level from Kilburn Engineering Limited's (KEL) acquisition of M E Energy Private Limited (MEEPL) in February 2024, as well as the further acquisition of Monga Strayfield Private Limited (MSPL) on January 28, 2025, thus MEEPL and MSPL have become KELs wholly owned subsidiaries. However, the stabilization of operations and the realization of these benefits on the group’s operational and financial risk profile remain to be seen, thereby it will remain a key rating monitorable.

The rating reaffirmation continues to derive from improving operating performance along with longstanding relationship with reputed clients. The ratings favourably factor in Kilburn Group's (KG’s) healthy order book position providing strong medium-term revenue visibility buoyed by its execution capabilities. The rating also factors in long track record of operations and expertise of the group in the manufacturing of customised systems and equipment’s for diverse applications. The rating is further supported by the healthy financial risk profile of the group characterized by healthy net worth, below unity gearing and comfortable debt protection metrics. These strengths are however, partly offset by the working capital-intensive nature of operations, cyclicality in the end user industries, their capex plans and business cycles.

About Company

Set up in 1998 by Mr K V Kartha, M E Energy Private Limited is engaged in designing, manufacturing, and installing waste heat reutilization systems solution. The company has facility is in Pune, Maharashtra. The directors of the company are Mr. Kalathil Vijaysanker Kartha, Mr. Amitav Roychoudhury, Mr. Anil Somshekar Karnad and Mr. Ranjit Pamo Lala. The Registered office address is in Pune, India.

About the Group

Kilburn Group (KG) includes three companies viz. Kilburn Engineering Limited (KEL), M E Energy Private Limited (MEEPL) and Monga Strayfield Private Limited (MSPL). MEEPL and MSPL are wholly owned subsidiaries of KEL. KEL is engaged in manufacturing of drying systems, MEEPL specializes in the production of thermal engineering and heat recovery systems and MSPL is engaged in frequency drying and heating technologies and specializes in sheet metal fabrication, a perfect complement to Kilburn Engineering’s existing drying systems. This synergy will help to tap into the existing client bases of the group entities along with providing a bundled solution.

Unsupported Rating

Not Applicable

Analytical Approach

Extent of Consolidation

•Full Consolidation

Rationale for Consolidation or Parent / Group / Govt. Support

Acuite has consolidated the business and financial risk profiles of Kilburn Engineering Limited (KEL), M E Energy Private Limited (MEEPL) and Monga Strayfield Private Limited (MSPL) together referred to as the ‘Kilburn Group’(KG). The consolidation is on the basis of MEEPL and MSPL being the wholly owned subsidiaries of KEL, corporate guarantee given to the MEEPL on its bank facilities by KEL and operational and financial synergies within the group. Further the consolidation also includes the step-down subsidiaries of KEL.

Key Rating Drivers

Strengths

Long operational track record and strong customer base
KG has a long track record of more than three decades in the industry and has built healthy relationships with its customers and suppliers, ranging from 5 to 30 years. The strong relationships with customers, who have a very strong credit profile, ensure regular orders and low counterparty credit risk. Further, in February 2024, KEL acquired 100% of the equity share capital of MEEPL. This acquisition is expected to augment the organizational prowess, as MEEPL specializes in the production of thermal engineering and heat recovery systems, which are expected to complement Kilburn Engineering’s existing drying systems. Furthermore, on January 28, 2025, KEL acquired 100% of the equity share capital of Monga Strayfield Private Limited, which is engaged in radio frequency drying and heating technologies and specializes in sheet metal fabrication. This acquisition is expected to further strengthen Kilburn’s market position and expand its offerings in key industrial sectors. The synergy of both acquisitions is expected to help tap into the existing client bases of all three entities, while also providing a bundled solution.

Revenue growth and improvement in the profitability
The group’s operating income stood at Rs. 424.46 crore in FY2025 as against Rs. 329.48 crore. The group’s EBITDA margin improved marginally to 24 per cent in FY2025 as against 23.37 per cent. Further, in H1FY2026, the group reported operating income of Rs. 131.77 crore and EBITDA margin of Rs. 35.84 crore. Further, the PAT margin stood at 14. 70 per cent in FY2025 as against 15.34 per cent in FY2024. The improvement in the overall performance of the group is primarily on account of acquisition of MEEPL (acquired in February 2024) and Monga Strayfield Private Limited (acquired in January 2025). The group has an unexecuted order book position of around Rs. 447 crore as of June 2025, of which Rs. 362.77 crore pertains to KEL. The group’s order book position remains moderate, providing revenue visibility for the near to medium term. Acuité believes that the revenue of the group is expected to improve further due to the healthy order book position and its execution on the back of expansion plans.

Healthy financial risk profile
The group’s financial risk is healthy, with a healthy net worth, below-unity gearing, and comfortable debt protection metrics. The tangible net worth increased to Rs. 351.14 crore as of March 31, 2025, reflecting sustained profitability and an increase from Rs. 175.93 Cr. as of March 31, 2024 due to accretion of profits to reserves and conversion of equity share warrants to equity share capital. The group's gearing is comfortable at 0.25 times as of March 31, 2025 as against 0.48 times as of March 31, 2024. The comfortable coverage debt protection metrics are reflected by the Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR), which stood at 7.05 times and the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR), which stood at 4.29 times as of March 31, 2025 as against 8.14 times and 6.48 times as of March 31, 2024 respectively. Total outside Liabilities/Total Net Worth (TOL/TNW) improved to 0.74 times as on 31st March 2025 as against 1.27 times as on 31st March 2024 while the Debt/EBITDA improved to 0.84 times as on 31st March 2025 as against at 1.06 times as on 31st March 2024.

KG is undertaking a brownfield expansion at Saravali involving a capital outlay of ~Rs. 30 crore and a Phase 2 expansion at subsidiary MEEPL with an indicative CapEx requirement of Rs. 7-12 crore funded by internal accruals to meet growing captive demand from increasing order inflows. Acuite believes, the financial risk profile of the group will continue to remain healthy over the medium term due to steady cash accruals.

Weaknesses

Working capital intensive nature of operations
The working capital-intensive nature of the group’s operations is marked by high and increased Gross Current Assets (GCA) of 361 days as of March 31, 2025 as against 326 days as on March 31, 2024, primarily due to unbilled revenue of Rs. 199.09 crore as of March 31, 2025. The inventory days stood at 54 days, and debtor’s collection period stood at 91 days in FY2025 as against 45 days and 87 days in FY2024 respectively. Due to the time taken to execute the orders, the operating cycle takes between 2 to 6 months, resulting in a large working capital requirement and staggered deliverables. Acuité believes that the working capital operations of the group will remain intensive due to the nature of business.

Susceptibility of profitability to volatility in raw material prices and cyclicality in end user industry
The group’s major raw material is steel, making its profit margins susceptible to fluctuations in raw material prices. However, since steel purchases are spread over a period of time, the impact of price volatility is mitigated to some extent through averaging. Further, demand for the group’s products is driven by the capital expenditure plans of end-user industries, which are inherently cyclical.

Rating Sensitivities

Sustainable improvement in revenue while improving profitability
Elongation of the working capital cycle
Deterioration in financial risk profile on the back of higher-than expected debt funded capex
Stabilization of operations and realization of benefits from the recent acquisitions on the group’s operational and financial risk profile.

Liquidity Position

Adequate

The liquidity position remains adequate, evidenced by moderate net cash accruals against no maturing debt obligations. The group’s has generated healthy net cash accruals of Rs. 69.72 crore in FY2025 against Rs. 4.86 crore repayment obligations during the same period. The free cash and bank balances stood minimal at Rs. 5.69 crore on March 31, 2025. The current ratio of the group improved to 2.14 times as on March 31, 2025 as against 1.72 times as on March 31, 2024. Further, the group has buffer in the fund-based limits with an average utilisation of ~44% for 6 months ending 31st August 2025 while the average utilisation for non-fund based limits for 6 months ending 31st August 2025 is ~62%.

Outlook: Positive

Other Factors affecting Rating

None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 25 (Actual)	FY 24 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	424.46	329.48
PAT	Rs. Cr.	62.39	50.54
PAT Margin	(%)	14.70	15.34
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	0.25	0.48
PBDIT/Interest	Times	7.05	8.14

Key Financials (Standalone)

Standalone figures of MEEPL.

Particulars	Unit	FY 25 (Actual)	FY 24 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	95.36	75.73
PAT	Rs. Cr.	4.29	3.43
PAT Margin	(%)	4.50	4.53
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	0.82	1.13
PBDIT/Interest	Times	3.44	3.10

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable)

Not Applicable

Any Other Information

None.

Applicable Criteria

• 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

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.

Rating History

Date	Name of Instruments/Facilities	Term	Amount (Rs. Cr)	Rating/Outlook
20 Feb 2025	Bank Guarantee (BLR)	Short Term	20.00	ACUITE A2 (Assigned)
	Bank Guarantee (BLR)	Short Term	10.00	ACUITE A2 (Assigned)
	Letter of Credit	Short Term	10.00	ACUITE A2 (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE BBB+ \| Stable (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE BBB+ \| Stable (Assigned)

Annexure - Details of instruments rated

Lender’s Name	ISIN	Facilities	Date Of Issuance	Coupon Rate	Maturity Date	Quantum (Rs. Cr.)	Complexity Level	Rating
INDUSIND BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bank Guarantee (BLR)	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	20.00	Simple	ACUITE A2 \| Reaffirmed
RBL Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bank Guarantee (BLR)	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10.00	Simple	ACUITE A2 \| Reaffirmed
INDUSIND BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	5.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB+ \| Positive \| Reaffirmed \| Stable to Positive
RBL Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	5.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB+ \| Positive \| Reaffirmed \| Stable to Positive
RBL Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Letter of Credit	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10.00	Simple	ACUITE A2 \| Reaffirmed

*Annexure 2 - List of Entities (applicable for Consolidation or Parent / Group / Govt. Support)

Sr. No.	Company Name
1	Kilburn Engineering Limited
2	M E Energy Private Limited
3	Monga Strayfield Private Limited
4	Strayfield Ltd, U.K.
5	Quantum Global Technologies Inc.

Contacts

Mohit Jain
Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations

Sayali Parab
Analyst - Rating Operations

Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders

Mob: +91 8591310146
Email ID: analyticalsupport@acuite.in

About Acuité Ratings & Research

Acuité is a full-service Credit Rating Agency registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The company received RBI Accreditation as an External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) for Bank Loan Ratings under BASEL-II norms in the year 2012. Acuité has assigned ratings to various securities, debt instruments and bank facilities of entities spread across the country and across a wide cross section of industries. It has its Registered and Head Office in Kanjurmarg, Mumbai.

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