Press Release

Press Release

April 29, 2026

ZECO GREEN LIMITED (ERSTWHILE ASTON PROCESSORS LIMITED)
Rating Assigned and Reaffirmed

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI)	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating	Regulated By
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	25.78	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Assigned	-	RBI
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	87.22	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed	-	RBI
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	104.22	-	ACUITE A3+ \| Assigned	RBI
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	72.78	-	ACUITE A3+ \| Reaffirmed	RBI
Total Outstanding	0.00	290.00	-	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	0.00	-	-	-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 its long-term rating of 'ACUITE BBB-' (read as ACUITE Triple B minus) on the Rs.87.22 Cr. bank facilities and short-term rating of ‘ACUITÉ A3+’ (read as ACUITE A three plus) on the Rs. 72.78 Cr. bank facilities bank facilities of Zeco Green Limited (ZGL) (Erstwhile Aston Processors Limited). The outlook is 'Stable' .
Acuite has assigned its long-term rating at 'ACUITE BBB-' (read as ACUITE Triple B minus) and short-term rating at ‘ACUITÉ A3+’ (read as ACUITE A three plus) on the Rs. 130.00 Cr. bank facilities bank facilities of Zeco Green Limited (ZGL) (Erstwhile Aston Processors Limited). The outlook is 'Stable'

Rationale for rating
The rating reaffirmation factors in the improving scale of operations with the commencement of manufacturing activities and the experienced management. The rating also takes comfort from efficient working capital management and adequate liquidity. However, it continues to be constrained by a moderate financial risk profile, exposure to volatility in raw material prices, and foreign exchange fluctuation risk.

About the Company

Incorporated in 2019, Zeco Green Limited (Erstwhile Aston Processors Limited) is engaged in manufacturing of copper wire rods. ZGL is part of Singapore based ARGO Group, where promoters of ZGL have common interest. It is also engaged in scrap processing of aluminium and copper. In June 2025, following the commissioning of Furnace 2, the company’s manufacturing capacity increased to approximately 3,000 MT per month. The directors of the company are Mr. Shivam Kumar Gupta, Mr. Manoj Singh Tolumbia, Mr. Bijal Yogesh Durgavale, Mr. Pijush Kanti Mazumder, Mr. Chirag Dinesh Majithia, Ms. Tanvi Ritesh Brahmbhatt and Mr. Anand Devendra Tiwari. The registered office is located at Maharashtra.

Unsupported Rating

Not Applicable

Analytical Approach

Acuite has considered the standalone business and financial risk profile of ZGL to arrive at the rating.

Key Rating Drivers

Strengths

Experienced management with strong sourcing ability of the Argo group
The company is managed by Mr. Anand Tiwari and a team of experienced personnel. The directors possess over a decade of experience in this line of business. The longstanding experience of the promoters has helped the company establish strong relationships with key suppliers and customers. ZGL is part of Singapore based ARGO Group, where promoters of ZGL have common interest. The group has been active in scrap sourcing from international markets and processing of the same for over a decade, establishing strong connections and negotiations with scrap suppliers worldwide. Its network includes suppliers from countries such as Singapore, the UK, the UAE, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Spain, and others. Leveraging on the group’s ability to source scrap from yards across the globe is a key strength of ZGL that sets it apart from its competitors in terms of quality and pricing. Acuite believes that the company will benefit from the experienced management team and its sourcing ability from the international market in the medium to long term.

Improving scale of operations
In FY26 (Prov.), Zeco Green Limited (ZGL) reported operating income of Rs. 1,476.61 Cr. as against Rs. 972.27 Cr. in FY25 (FY24: Rs. 426.09 Cr.). The growth is primarily driven by the commencement of manufacturing operations of copper wire rod production, contributing Rs. 980.78 Cr. during the year. Revenue growth was further supported by improved realisations from aluminium and copper scrap processing and stable realisations from copper rods. In May 2024, the company commenced copper rod manufacturing at its existing processing facility with the commissioning of Furnace 1, having an installed capacity of approximately 1,500 MT per month. During Q1 FY26, Furnace 1 was temporarily shut down for planned capacity upgradation and installation of Furnace 2. Following completion of the upgradation, both furnaces became operational, resulting in an increase in total manufacturing capacity to approximately 3,000 MT per month as of June 2025.
Profitability improved in FY26 (Prov.), with EBITDA increasing to Rs. 38.88 Cr. (FY25: Rs. 19.58 Cr.; FY24: Rs. 9.36 Cr.), driven by the scale-up of manufacturing operations. EBITDA margin improved to 2.63 per cent in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 2.01 per cent), supported by a higher contribution from manufacturing revenues and improved cost absorption. Acuite believes that the operating performance of the company is expected to improve further on the back of augmentation of capacities and traction in manufacturing activities.

Efficient Working Capital Management
The working capital operations of the company remained efficient, marked by gross current asset (GCA) days of 73 days in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 60 days). The average collection period is around 10–15 days. The inventory holding period stood at 8 days in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 26 days). Additionally, the creditor payment period stood at 22 days in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 13 days). The average credit period of the company is around 15–25 days. On a consolidated basis, considering both fund-based and non-fund-based limits, the average utilisation stood at approximately 83.26 per cent over the six months ended February 2026. Acuite believes that working capital requirements are expected to remain efficient of the company over the medium term.

Weaknesses

Moderate Financial Risk Profile
The financial risk profile of the company remained moderate, marked by moderate gearing, net worth and average debt protection metrics. While the net worth of the company increased to Rs. 80.53 Cr. in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: Rs. 53.54 Cr.), primarily on account of retention of profits and equity infusion of Rs. 9.88 Cr, however, increase in debt towards working capital requirements and loan for plant and machinery has led to an increase in gearing to 2.16 times in FY26 (Prov.) from 1.74 times in FY25. Furthermore, debt protection metrics are average, with the Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR) at 2.84 times in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 2.34 times). The Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) of the company stood at 1.08 times in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 0.97 times). The Debt-to-EBITDA ratio of the company remained high at 4.27 times in FY26 (Prov.) (FY25: 4.43 times). However, which along with absence of increase in debt funded capex is expected to improve the financial risk profile over the medium term.

Susceptibility to risks related to volatility in raw material prices
ZGL is exposed to fluctuations in raw material prices, as the price of the key input, copper scrap /plates, is volatile, any increase cannot be immediately and fully passed on to customers. Hence, profitability remains susceptible to adverse fluctuations in raw material cost.

Foreign exchange fluctuation risk
The company imports over 50 per cent of copper and aluminium scrap from foreign countries, thus its business remains exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, thereby affecting its revenues and margins. Although there have been no instances of major losses in the recent past, the company remains susceptible to foreign exchange rate fluctuations over the medium term.

Rating Sensitivities

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

Sustain improvement in scale of operations and profitability, with EBIDTA margins above 3.5 per cent
Improvement in financial risk profile

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

Significant deterioration in operating performance with revenues falling below Rs 900 Crs
Deterioration in financial risk, owing to debt funded capex
Elongation in working capital cycle

Liquidity Position

Adequate

The company’s liquidity position remained adequate, supported by net cash accruals of Rs. 20.68 Cr. in FY26(Prov.) against maturing debt obligations of Rs. 8.25 Cr. during the year. Further, the company is expected to generate cash accruals in the range of Rs. 30.81–36.77 Cr. against repayment obligations of Rs. 8.25 - Rs. 11.52 Cr. over the medium term. The average consolidated utilisation of fund-based and non-fund-based working capital limits stood at around 83.26% over the six months ended February 2026. The cash and bank balance stood at Rs. 0.05 Cr., and the current ratio stood at 1.21 times as of March 31.2026(Prov). Acuite believes that liquidity position of the company will continue to remain adequate with steady cash accrual generation in the near term.

Outlook: Stable

Other Factors affecting Rating

None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 26 (Provisional)	FY 25 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	1476.61	972.27
PAT	Rs. Cr.	17.09	7.02
PAT Margin	(%)	1.16	0.72
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	2.16	1.74
PBDIT/Interest	Times	2.84	2.34

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
• Manufacturing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-59.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
31 Jan 2025	Letter of Credit	Short Term	32.00	ACUITE A3+ (Assigned)
	Bills Discounting	Short Term	25.00	ACUITE A3+ (Assigned)
	Bills Discounting	Short Term	10.00	ACUITE A3+ (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	30.00	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	12.50	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	5.50	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Term Loan	Long Term	11.00	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	10.00	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Term Loan	Long Term	10.00	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Cash Credit	Long Term	10.00	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Long Term	1.50	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	2.50	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable (Assigned)

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
HSBC Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bills Discounting	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	25.00	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Reaffirmed
ICICI BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bills Discounting	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10.00	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Reaffirmed
Federal Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bills Discounting	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10.00	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Assigned
KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bills Discounting	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	35.00	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Assigned
ICICI BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	7.14	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
AXIS BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
BANK OF INDIA (BOI)	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	30.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
Federal Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	12.50	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
H D F C Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	5.50	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
Federal Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Cash Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	2.50	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Assigned
ICICI BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Channel/Dealer/Vendor Financing	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	3.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Assigned
Tata Capital Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Inventory Funding	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	2.50	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
H D F C Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Letter of Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	37.78	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Reaffirmed
H D F C Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Letter of Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	19.22	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Assigned
KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Letter of Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	5.00	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Assigned
YES BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Letter of Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	35.00	Simple	ACUITE A3+ \| Assigned
Not Applicable	Not avl. / Not appl.	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	1.50	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
Not Applicable	Not avl. / Not appl.	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	1.78	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Assigned
H D F C Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Term Loan	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	07 Mar 2030	8.08	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
Tata Capital Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Term Loan	Unlisted	RBI	30 Nov 2023	Not avl. / Not appl.	10 Oct 2027	10.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Reaffirmed
Federal Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Term Loan	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	26 Oct 2030	13.50	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Assigned
Tata Capital Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Term Loan	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10 Dec 2028	5.00	Simple	ACUITE BBB- \| Stable \| Assigned

Contacts

Mohit Jain
Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations

Amay Gupta
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.
³There 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.
⁴ The 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.
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.