Press Release

Press Release

July 01, 2026

PODDAR CAR WORLD PRIVATE LIMITED
Rating Reaffirmed

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI)	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating	Regulated By
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	93.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable \| Reaffirmed	-	RBI
Total Outstanding	0.00	93.00	-	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	0.00	-	-	-

Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available.

Rating Rationale

Acuite has reaffirmed the long term rating of 'ACUITE BBB' (read as ACUITE triple B) on the bank facilities of Rs.93.00 Cr. of Poddar Car World Private Limited (PCWPL). The outlook remains 'Stable'.

Rationale for Rating
The rating reaffirmation reflects a marginal revenue growth of ~8% in FY26 (estimated) over FY25, driven by recovery in passenger vehicle (PV) demand following the GST rate cut. There was a decline in revenue by ~15% in FY25 compared to FY24, primarily due to changes in the road tax policy in Assam and lower offtake from Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), which resulted in subdued demand. Going forward, the company’s operational performance is expected to improve, supported by higher offtake from MSIL. Profitability has improved, with operating margins increasing to 1.94% in FY26 (estimated) from 0.78% in FY25, mainly due to better absorption of fixed costs. However, margins remain modest given the inherent nature of the dealership business. In FY25, profitability was significantly impacted compared to FY24 due to lower operating margins and higher finance costs. The rating continues to derive strength from the company’s established presence and its long-standing association with MSIL, which supports stable operations. The liquidity position remains adequate, with sufficient accruals to meet debt obligations in FY26. However, the rating is constrained by the company’s below-average financial risk profile in FY25, along with exposure to demand cyclicality in the PV segment and intense competition in the dealership industry.

About the Company

Poddar Car World Private Limited (PCWPL), incorporated in 2005, is an authorised dealer of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL). The company commenced operations in 2006 and is a family-owned business managed by the Poddar family. PCWPL has established a presence across multiple locations in Assam and the northern regions of West Bengal.
Presently, the company is under the directorship of Mr. Anup Poddar, Mr. Ankit Poddar, Ms. Richi Poddar, and Mr. Dikshit Poddar.

Unsupported Rating

Not Applicable

Analytical Approach

Acuite has considered the standalone business and financial risk profiles of Poddar Car World Private Limited (PCWPL) to arrive at the rating.

Key Rating Drivers

Strengths

Long track record of operations and experienced management
The experienced directors possess nearly two decades of involvement in the automobile dealership sector through their leadership at PCWPL. With a commendable operational history since its establishment in 2006, PCWPL’s extensive track record is viewed favourably by Acuite, indicating that the company is consistently expanding its operations and will be maintaining sustainable growth in the foreseeable future.

Marginal increase in revenues in FY26
PCWPL derives its revenue primarily from the sale and servicing of Maruti Suzuki vehicles and used cars, along with spare parts and accessories.
The operating income of PCWPL stood at Rs.756.03 Cr. in FY25 as against Rs.885.19 Cr. in FY24. The decline in revenue was largely attributable to changes in road tax policies in Assam. While the company was able to partially pass on the increased costs to customers, this led to a reduction in sales volumes. Moreover, subdued market conditions, coupled with lower supply of vehicles from Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), further impacted the company’s overall sales performance during the year. However, the company achieved marginal increase in revenues of Rs.788.93 Cr. in FY26 (Estd.). The improvement was driven by a revival in demand for passenger vehicles during H2FY26, following the reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates. However, the company’s overall sales remained constrained due to limited supply from MSIL. During FY26, entry-level vehicles such as Wagon R, Alto, S-Presso, Celerio, Eeco, Swift, Tour, and Dzire accounted for ~60% of total sales, while premium and utility vehicles contributed the remaining 40%. Acuite believes that PCWPL’s scale of operations is expected to gradually improve over the near to medium term, supported by a recovery in demand, introduction of new models, and expansion through additional showrooms.

Efficient working capital cycle
The efficient working capital cycle of the company is marked by Gross Current Assets (GCA) of 70 days in FY25 as against 73 days in FY24. The debtor days stood at 19 days as on March 31, 2025, as against 29 days as on March 31, 2024. Further, the inventory days stood at 40 days as on March 31, 2025, as against 38 days as on March 31, 2024. Against this, the creditors stood at 9 days as on March 31, 2025 as against 18 days as on March 31, 2024. The company receives funds in advance and once the vehicles are sold, the payment is adjusted within ~5 days. Acuite believes that the working capital cycle of the company will remain at similar levels over the medium term.

Weaknesses

Below Average Financial risk profile
The financial risk profile of the company is marked as below average by decrease in net worth, increased gearing and low debt protection metrics in FY25. The tangible net worth of the company stood at Rs.48.84 Cr. as on March 31, 2025, as against Rs.54.41 Cr. as on March 31, 2024 due to PAT loss in FY25. The gearing of the company stood at 1.84 times in FY25 from 1.71 times in FY24 due to availment of additional debt in FY25 to undertake capex. The Total Outside Liabilities/Tangible Net Worth (TOL/TNW) stood at 2.76 times in FY25 as against 2.98 times in FY24. The debt protection metrics of the company stood low marked by Interest coverage ratio (ICR) of 0.78 times and debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 0.70 times for FY2025 as against 3.29 times and 2.84 times respectively in FY24. Acuite believes that the financial risk profile will improve over the medium term in absence of debt funded capex plans and steady accruals.

Decline in profitability in FY25
The operating margin dropped to 0.78% in FY25 from 2.18% in FY24 due to under-absorption of fixed costs against lower sales and addition of new showrooms. In a dealership, the margin on cars is already fixed by MSIL, limiting the company to generate incremental income. Also, due to intense competition, the dealer has limited power to negotiate prices with customers. Margins were further impacted by higher discounts offered on aging inventory to liquidate unsold stock. The company reported an EBITDA margin of 1.94% in FY26 (Estd.).
The PAT margin recorded a loss of (0.74) % in FY25 as against 0.88% in FY24 primarily on account of an increase in finance costs due to availment of additional debt in FY25. Further, the company achieved 0.41% in FY26 (Estd.). Acuite believes that the profitability margins are expected to improve in near to medium term. However, the sustainability of margins will remain a key monitorable, given the inherent margin constraints in the dealership business.

Exposure to Intense Competition
The company is exposed to intense competition from other dealers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL). The company is also facing competition from dealers of other automobile . The company has experienced a notable decline in market share but launch of new models at competitive prices will likely retain their market share of MSIL.

Rating Sensitivities

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action:

Growth in scale of operations above Rs.900 Cr coupled with improvement in PAT margins.
Improvement in debt protection metrics

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action:

Elongation of working capital cycle impacting the company’s liquidity
EBDITA margin remaining below 1%

Liquidity Position

Adequate

The company has adequate liquidity marked by flexibility to infuse funds by the promoters in form of USL as and when required in the business. The unsecured loans stood at Rs.6.23 Cr. in FY25 from Rs.5.21 Cr. in FY24. The net cash accruals of Rs. (1.69) Cr. in FY25 were insufficient to meet the debt obligations of Rs.1.00 Cr. over the same period which was repaid using the infusion of unsecured loans. The cash and bank balance stood at Rs.3.27 Cr. in FY25 as against Rs. 2.11 Cr. for FY 2024. Further, the current ratio of the company stood comfortable at 1.23 times in FY25 as against 1.16 times in FY2024. The bank limit utilization of the company has been ~55 percent utilized for the last twelve months ended March 2026. Moreover, the working capital cycle of the company remains efficient marked by Gross Current Assets (GCA) of 70 days for FY25 from 73 days for FY24. Acuite believes that the liquidity of the company will remain adequate over the medium term on account of financial flexibility of promoters to infuse funds, comfortable current ratio, surplus cash and bank balances and sufficient accruals against debt repayments.

Outlook: Stable

Other Factors affecting Rating

None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 25 (Actual)	FY 24 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	756.03	885.19
PAT	Rs. Cr.	(5.57)	7.76
PAT Margin	(%)	(0.74)	0.88
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	1.84	1.71
PBDIT/Interest	Times	0.78	3.29

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

Not Applicable

Any other information

None

Applicable Criteria

• 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
• Trading Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-61.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
08 Apr 2025	Inventory Funding	Long Term	38.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Reaffirmed)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Reaffirmed)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Reaffirmed)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	15.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Reaffirmed)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	30.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Reaffirmed)
12 Jan 2024	Inventory Funding	Long Term	38.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Upgraded from ACUITE BB+)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Upgraded from ACUITE BB+)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	30.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Upgraded from ACUITE BB+)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	20.00	ACUITE BBB \| Stable (Upgraded from ACUITE BB+)
06 Jun 2023	Bank Guarantee (BLR)	Short Term	0.50	ACUITE A4+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE A3+)
	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Long Term	0.35	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	19.00	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	0.15	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	15.00	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	10.00	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	43.00	ACUITE BB+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB \| Stable)

Annexure - Details of instruments rated

Lender’s Name	ISIN	Facilities	Listing Status	Regulated By	Date Of Issuance	Coupon Rate	Maturity Date	Quantum (Rs. Cr.)	Complexity Level	Rating
AXIS BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	7.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
Federal Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Inventory Funding	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	40.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
State Bank of India	Not avl. / Not appl.	Inventory Funding	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	15.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
AXIS BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Inventory Funding	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	31.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB \| Stable \| Reaffirmed

Contacts

Mohit Jain
Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations

Manvi Khaitan
Associate Analyst - Rating Operations

Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders

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

List of instruments and names of regulators of the instruments

As required by SEBI Circular (SEBI/HO/DDHS/DDHS-PoD-2/I/4685/2026) dated February 10, 2026, a list of activities or instruments falling under the purview of various Financial Sector Regulators (FSRs), along with the names of respective FSRs, is being disclosed below:
A. Rating Activity:

Sr. No.	Instrument / activity Name	Regulator of the instrument
1	Listed/Proposed to be listed Bonds/Debentures/Preference Shares (all securities)	SEBI
2	Unlisted/Proposed to be unlisted Bonds/Debentures/ Preference share (all securities)	MCA
3	Listed PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities regulated by RBI)¹	SEBI
4	Listed PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities not regulated by RBI)¹	SEBI
5	Unlisted PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities regulated by RBI)¹	RBI
6	Listed Commercial Paper and NCDs with original maturity less than 1 year	RBI
7	Unlisted Commercial Paper and NCDs with original maturity less than 1 year	RBI
8	Loan Facilities (Fund/Non-Fund Based) from Bank / NBFCs/ NHB/ FIs ²	RBI
9	External Commercial Borrowings and other similar borrowings	RBI
10	Certificates of Deposit	RBI
11	Fixed Deposits raised by NBFCs, Banks, HFCs, FIs	RBI
12	Fixed Deposits raised by corporates other than NBFCs, Banks, HFCs, FIs	MCA
13	Inter Corporate Deposits/Loans extended by Corporates	MCA
14	Borrowing programme ³	-
15	Issuer Ratings ⁴	-
16	Credit Ratings for Capital Protection Oriented Schemes (by Mutal Funds and AIFs)	SEBI
17	Credit quality ratings (CQRs) for Mutual Fund Schemes and Schemes of AIFs	SEBI
18	Listed Security Receipts	SEBI
19	Unlisted Security Receipts	RBI
20	Independent Credit Evaluation (ICE)	RBI
21	Expected Loss Ratings (For Loan Facilities [Fund/Non-Fund based] from Banks/NBFCs/NHB/FIs)	RBI
22	Expected Loss Ratings (Listed / Proposed to be listed Bonds / Debentures / Preference Shares (all securities))	SEBI
23	Expected Loss Ratings (Unlisted / Proposed to be unlisted Bonds/ Debentures / Preference Shares (all securities))	MCA
24	Unlisted PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities not regulated by RBI) ¹	Investor-side Regulator such as IRDAI, PFRDA ⁵

¹Includes securitisation transactions involving assignee payout, acquirer's payout.

² Includes bank facilities such as liquidity facility, second loss facility that are part of securitisation transactions.
³The rated instrument may involve issuance of different instruments such as debt securities (listed or otherwise), bank loans, commercial paper (listed or otherwise), etc. The regulator of the instrument may accordingly be SEBI, RBI or MCA and can only be determined upon issuance. In Press Release(s) subsequent to issuance(s), Acuite shall separately capture the rated quantum details along with names of respective regulators.
⁴ There is no instrument being rated and hence, Regulator of the Instrument is not applicable. The rating scale and definitions are being followed as stipulated in SEBI Master Circular for CRAs.
⁵ These ratings were assigned during regulatory regime prior to the introduction of SEBI CRA Circular dated Feb 10, 2026 and accordingly, investor side regulators have been included.

B. Other activities:

Sr. No.	Activity Name	Regulator of the activity
1	Monitoring Agency	SEBI
2	Research activities, incidental to rating, such as research for Economy, Industries and Companies ⁶	Not applicable

⁶ permitted by SEBI vide SEBI Master Circular for CRAs.

Disclosure on instruments / activities and names of regulators:

A list of products/activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of various financial sector regulators (FSRs) along with the names of respective FSRs has also been duly disclosed by Acuite on its website. A link to the same has been provided below for ready reference:

https://acuite.in/Activities-and-Regulators.html

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. Please visit https://www.acuite.in/faqs.htm to refer FAQs on Credit Rating.

Note: None of the Directors on the Board of Acuité Ratings & Research Limited are members of any rating committee and therefore do not participate in discussions regarding the rating of any entity.