Press Release

Press Release

May 24, 2024

SOONGACHI TEA INDUSTRIES PRIVATE LIMITED
Rating Downgraded,Reaffirmed and Issuer not co-operating

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating
Bank Loan Ratings	12.41	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating*	-
Bank Loan Ratings	0.75	-	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Total Outstanding	13.16	-	-

Rating Rationale

Acuité has downgraded the long-term rating to 'ACUITE B' (read as ACUITE B) from ‘ACUITE B+’ (read as ACUITE B Plus) and reaffirmed the short-term rating of ‘ACUITE A4’ (read as ACUITE A four) on the Rs 13.16 crore bank facilities of Soongachi Tea Industries Private Limited. The rating continues to be flagged as “Issuer Not-Cooperating” and is downgraded on account of information risk.

About the Company

Calcutta based, Soongachi Tea Industries Private Limited was incorporated in 1970 and is engaged in manufacturing and blending of tea under the brand name 'Sona'. Soongachi Tea Industries Private Limited owns a tea estate at Mal Bazar in Jalpaiguru District (West Bengal) with ~ 3500 acres of gross plantation area of which ~1550 acres are under tea. The company, in addition to own plantation, procures green leaves from other estates in the vicinity and readymade tea from auction centres for blending. The company has an annual installed capacity to produce ~40 lac kg of tea. Currently, the operations are managed by Mr. B K Saria, Mr. Ghanshyam Das Agarwal, Mr. Shiv Saria Kumar and Mr. S. Changoiwala.

Unsupported Rating

Not Applicable

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). Acuite endeavoured to gather information about the entity/industry from the public domain. Therefore, Acuité cautions enders 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."

Liquidity Position

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

Outlook

Not Applicable

Other Factors affecting Rating

None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 23 (Actual)	FY 22 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	50.56	54.95
PAT	Rs. Cr.	(5.72)	1.11
PAT Margin	(%)	(11.30)	2.01
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	2.46	1.39
PBDIT/Interest	Times	(2.44)	2.34

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA

Not Applicable

Any other information

None

Applicable Criteria

• Infrastructure Sector: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-51.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
24 Feb 2023	Bank Guarantee/Letter of Guarantee	Short Term	0.75	ACUITE A4 (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	12.04	ACUITE B+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Term Loan	Long Term	0.37	ACUITE B+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
30 Nov 2021	Bank Guarantee/Letter of Guarantee	Short Term	0.75	ACUITE A4 (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	12.04	ACUITE B+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Term Loan	Long Term	0.37	ACUITE B+ (Reaffirmed & 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 avl. / Not appl.	Bank Guarantee/Letter of Guarantee	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	0.75	Simple	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Punjab National Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	12.04	Simple	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE B+ )
Punjab National Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Term Loan	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	20 Jan 2020	0.37	Simple	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE B+ )

Contacts

Analytical Details	Contact Details
Mohit Jain Senior Vice President - Rating Operations Tel: 022–49294017 mohit.jain@acuite.in Sahil Sawant Associate - Rating Operations Tel: 022-49294065 sahil.sawant@acuite.in	Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders Mob: +91 8591310146 Email ID: analyticalsupport@acuite.in 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. Please visit https://www.acuite.in/faqs.htm to refer FAQs on Credit Rating.