| Established educational institution with diversified academic offerings and healthy placement record:
The Trust offers a diversified portfolio of academic programmes across engineering, management, pharmacy, nursing, sciences, agriculture, horticulture and school education, catering to a broad student base. The Trust has maintained healthy student enrolment levels and placement outcomes across academic cycles, supporting stability in operations and revenue visibility. The placement record remained comfortable, with over 1,600 students placed in AY2024-25 and around 1,820 students placed in AY2025-26, with placements still underway. The risk associated with concentration in any specific programme is partially mitigated by the diversified academic profile and established industry connect developed by the institution over the years. Acuité believes the Trust's diversified academic portfolio, healthy occupancy levels and placement track record mitigate the risk arising from concentration in engineering programmes.
Stable operating income with improved profitability:
The Trust's operating income is stable however moderated marginally to Rs.190.31 Cr. in FY2026 (Prov.) from Rs.193.50 Cr. in FY2025, after witnessing healthy growth from Rs.171.87 Cr. in FY2024 driven by growth in student enrolments and expansion of academic programmes. Despite the marginal moderation in revenue during FY2026, operating profitability improved significantly with EBITDA increasing to Rs.73.98 Cr. in FY2026 (Prov.) from Rs.58.87 Cr. in FY2025 and Rs.63.02 Cr. in FY2024, resulting in an improvement in EBITDA margin to 38.87 percent from 30.42 percent in FY2025 and 36.67 percent in FY2024. The moderation in profitability during FY2025 was primarily on account of higher expenditure towards student capability development, training and placement-related initiatives. The subsequent improvement in FY2026 was supported by a favourable student mix, with higher contribution from management quota admissions and engineering programmes, which command superior fee realisation. Consequently, PAT improved to Rs.42.84 Cr. in FY2026 (Prov.) from Rs.27.88 Cr. in FY2025.
Further, during 5MFY2027, the Trust reported operating income of Rs.115.09 Cr. with an EBITDA margin of 69.0 percent, as against operating income of Rs.93.02 Cr. and an EBITDA margin of 51.0 percent during 5MFY2026. The improvement was supported by higher student enrolments and increased fee collections during the initial months of the academic year. Acuité believes the Trust's profitability profile is supported by healthy student enrolment levels, favourable course mix and ability to generate operating leverage from its existing infrastructure base.
Healthy financial risk profile:
SVET’s financial risk profile remained healthy, marked by healthy net worth, moderate leverage and comfortable debt protection metrics. The Trust's net worth improved to Rs.193.85 Cr. as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) from Rs.151.00 Cr. as on March 31, 2025, supported by healthy accretion to reserves through retention of surplus generated during the year. The total debt (comprising long-term debt of Rs.102.45 Cr., short-term debt of Rs.36.37 Cr., current maturities of long-term debt of Rs.13.82 Cr and unsecured loans of Rs.1.33 Cr.) increased marginally to Rs.153.97 Cr as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) from Rs.146.12 Cr. as on March 31, 2025, primarily towards infrastructure development and campus expansion initiatives.
The gearing improved to 0.79 times as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) from 0.97 times as on March 31, 2025, while the TOL/TNW improved to 0.99 times from 1.23 times during the same period, on account of the significant improvement in the Trust's net worth. The debt protection metrics also strengthened, with the interest coverage ratio (ICR) improving to 6.35 times in FY2026 (Prov.) from 4.37 times in FY2025, supported by higher operating profitability. Similarly, debt service coverage (DSCR) also improved to 2.97 times in FY2026 (Prov.) from 2.18 times in FY2025. Further, Debt-to-EBITDA improved to 2 times as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) from 2.42 times as on March 31, 2025 owing to higher operating surplus generation. Acuité believes the financial risk profile of the Trust is likely to remain healthy over the medium term due to its healthy capital structure and comfortable debt protection metrics.
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| Moderately intensive working capital operations:
The Trust's working capital operations remained moderately intensive, as reflected by gross current asset (GCA) of 189 days in FY2026 (Prov.) against 173 days in FY2025 and 147 days in FY2024. The elongation in the working capital cycle was primarily on account of higher receivables, with debtor days increasing to 118 days in FY2026 (Prov.) from 60 days in FY2025 and 65 days in FY2024. A significant portion of the debtors pertains to scholarship reimbursements receivable from the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The creditor period stood at 71 days in FY2026 (Prov.) as against 76 days in FY2025 and 65 days in FY2024. The current ratio remained comfortable at 1.30 times as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) compared to 1.23 times as on March 31, 2025. Further, the fund-based working capital limits were utilised at an average of around 85 percent during the six months ended August 2026. Acuité believes the working capital operations are expected to remain moderately intensive over the medium term, primarily on account of receivables from government scholarship schemes.
Moderate concentration towards engineering programmes:
Engineering programmes continue to constitute the largest academic segment of the Trust, accounting for around 71 percent of the total student strength in FY2026 and remaining the primary contributor to revenue generation. The concentration risk is partially mitigated by the Trust's diversified presence across computing, management, pharmacy, nursing, agriculture, sciences, paramedical and school education segments, which collectively account for nearly 29 percent of total student strength. Further, healthy enrolments across non-engineering disciplines and the flexibility to introduce new programmes under the university framework support diversification of the overall student and revenue profile.
Exposure to regulatory framework governing admissions and fee structures:
The Trust's operations remain exposed to the regulatory framework governing admissions and fee structures in the higher education sector. Approximately 35 percent of the admissions are through the convener quota, wherein fee levels are subject to regulatory guidelines and periodic revisions by the relevant authorities. Consequently, any adverse changes in admission policies, seat allocation norms or fee regulations could impact the Trust's revenue generation and profitability. However, the risk is partially mitigated by the Trust's diversified academic portfolio, established brand presence and sizeable proportion of management quota admissions, which provide a degree of flexibility in fee realization.
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