PR

Press Release
NATIONAL OXYGEN LIMITED
March 23, 2023
Rating Reaffirmed and Issuer not co-operating

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating
Bank Loan Ratings	33.00	ACUITE B- \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*	-
Bank Loan Ratings	3.00	-	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Total Outstanding Quantum (Rs. Cr)	36.00	-	-

Rating Rationale

Acuité has reaffirmed the long-term rating of ‘ACUITE B-’ (read as ACUITE B minus) and the short term rating of ‘ACUITE A4’ (read as ACUITE A four) on the Rs. 36.00 crore bank facilities of National Oxygen Limited. The rating continues to be flagged as “Issuer Not Cooperating” and is based on best available information.

About the Company

National Oxygen Limited (NOL) a Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1974, registered with Bombay & Madras Stock Exchanges. NOL is a producer and supplier of Industrial Gases both in Liquid and Gaseous form to Industries and Hospitals. In 1980 the Company installed and commissioned the first oxygen plant of 60 cubic metres per hour capacity at Mathur Village, Pudukottai District, and Tamil Nadu. NOL currently has a capacity of 2500 m3 per hour of Oxygen / Nitrogen gases and 2,00,000 m3 per annum capacity of Dissolved Acetylene gas having manufacturing facilities at Pondicherryand Tamil Nadu. The company is currently managed by Mr. Rajeshkumar Saraf, Mr. Gajanand Saraf, Mrs. Sarita Saraf, Mr. Shanmugavadivel Siva, Mrs. Mona Milan Parekh and Mr. Amit Kumar Agarwal.

Non-cooperation by the issuer/borrower:

Acuité has been requesting for data, information and undertakings from the rated entity for conducting surveillance & review of the rating. However, the issuer/borrower failed to submit such information before the due date.

Acuité believes that information risk is a critical component in such ratings, and non-cooperation by the issuer along with unwillingness to provide information could be a sign of potential deterioration in its overall credit quality.

This rating is, therefore, being flagged as “Issuer not-cooperating”, in line with prevailing SEBI regulations and Acuité’s policies.

Limitation regarding information availability:

The rating is based on information available from sources other than the issuer/borrower (in the absence of information provided by the issuer/borrower). Acuité endeavoured to gather information about the entity/industry from the public domain. Therefore, Acuité cautions lenders and investors regarding the use of such information, on which the indicative credit ratingis based.

Rating Sensitivity

"No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon."

Material Covenants

Not Applicable

Liquidity Position

"No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon."

Outlook

Not Applicable

Other Factors affecting Rating

Not Applicable

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 22 (Actual)	FY 21 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	52.05	40.16
PAT	Rs. Cr.	7.62	(1.07)
PAT Margin	(%)	14.64	(2.66)
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	2077.23	5.74
PBDIT/Interest	Times	5.98	1.49

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA

Not Applicable

Any other information

Acuité is yet to receive the latest No Default Statement (NDS) from the rated entity, despite repeated requests and follow-ups.

Applicable Criteria

• Manufacturing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-59.htm
• Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm
• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.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
30 Dec 2021	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	12.50	ACUITE B- ( Issuer not co-operating*)
	Bank Guarantee	Short Term	3.00	ACUITE A4 ( Issuer not co-operating*)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.50	ACUITE B- ( Issuer not co-operating*)
	Term Loan	Long Term	1.02	ACUITE B- ( Issuer not co-operating*)
	Proposed Bank Facility	Long Term	13.98	ACUITE B- ( Issuer not co-operating*)
06 Oct 2020	Proposed Bank Facility	Long Term	13.98	ACUITE B- (Downgraded and Issuer not co-operating*)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.50	ACUITE B- (Downgraded and Issuer not co-operating*)
	Bank Guarantee	Short Term	3.00	ACUITE A4 (Issuer not co-operating*)
	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	12.50	ACUITE B- (Downgraded and Issuer not co-operating*)
	Term Loan	Long Term	1.02	ACUITE B- (Downgraded and Issuer not co-operating*)

Annexure - Details of instruments rated

Lender’s Name	ISIN	Facilities	Date Of Issuance	Coupon Rate	Maturity Date	Quantum (Rs. Cr.)	Complexity Level	Rating
Punjab National Bank	Not Applicable	Bank Guarantee/Letter of Guarantee	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	3.00	Simple	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Punjab National Bank	Not Applicable	Cash Credit	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	5.50	Simple	ACUITE B- \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	13.98	Simple	ACUITE B- \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Punjab National Bank	Not Applicable	Secured Overdraft	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	12.50	Simple	ACUITE B- \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Punjab National Bank	Not Applicable	Term Loan	Not available	Not available	Not available	1.02	Simple	ACUITE B- \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*

Contacts

Analytical	Rating Desk
Pooja Ghosh Vice President-Rating Operations Tel: 022-49294041 pooja.ghosh@acuite.in Abhishek Singh Analyst-Rating Operations Tel: 022-49294065 abhishek.s@acuite.in	Varsha Bist Senior Manager-Rating Operations Tel: 022-49294011 rating.desk@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.

Disclaimer: An Acuité rating does not constitute an audit of the rated entity and should not be treated as a recommendation or opinion that is intended to substitute for a financial adviser's or investor's independent assessment of whether to buy, sell or hold any security. Ratings assigned by Acuité are based on the data and information provided by the issuer and obtained from other reliable sources. Although reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the data and information is true, Acuité, in particular, makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied with respect to the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of the information relied upon. Acuité is not responsible for any errors or omissions and especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss of any kind, arising from the use of its ratings. Ratings assigned by Acuité are subject to a process of surveillance which may lead to a revision in ratings as and when the circumstances so warrant. Please visit our website (www.acuite.in) for the latest information on any instrument rated by Acuité.