But numbers have been disclosed to a rating agency
CL Jose
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One is bound to wonder why Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), like many more other entities under the state government, fails to publish its annual report on its website in time.
KSIDC has been in the headlines recently for being a 13.4 per cent owner in the controversy-shrouded Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).
As is known to everyone, companies in general are currently busy giving final touches to their 2023-24 (FY24) financial reports, and In fact, several of these reports are set to see the light of the day in the coming days and weeks.
But in the case of KSIDC, which is the nodal agency for several policy initiatives by the Kerala Government and also the one responsible to implement the policies announced in the annual state budget of the state, it’s yet too soon to publish even the annual report for the financial year FY23, which is behind us by more than a year.
Interestingly, it doesn’t seem that the inordinate delay in publishing the FY23 numbers is because KSIDC has not finalized them. The fact is that the numbers have been disclosed to the rating agency.
Profit up
Businessbenchmark.news is herewith releasing the key numbers for 2022-23 (FY23).
KSIDC has reported a growth in net profit for the financial year FY23 to Rs64.73 crore from Rs54.93 crore a year ago – a growth of 17.84 per cent.
While the assets grew from Rs1455.10 crore to Rs1509.01 crore in FY23, the net worth experienced an expansion of Rs76 crore to Rs945.24 crore during this period. Though a lavish provisioning has restrained the net NPA at a healthy 1.4 percent, gross NPA at 13.99 per cent certainly flags concerns about the quality of assets.
Rating
The rating agency, Acuité, has reaffirmed its long-term rating of ‘ACUITE A’ (ACUITE A) on the Rs250 crore bank facilities of KSIDC with a stable outlook.
Moreover, it has also assigned long-term rating of ACUITE A to the corporation’s Rs200 crore bank facilities as well.
There’s certainly a concern that KSIDC’s loan portfolio is concentrated towards the hospitality and manufacturing segment, which exposes KSIDC’s performance to risks associated with the said sectors, according to ACUITE.
Having said that, the corporation’s capital position is healthy with a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) at 64.46 per cent as of December 2023.
Behind many ventures
The corporation in the past has operationalised various policy initiatives by the Government of Kerala (GoK), such as Kerala State Entrepreneurship Development (KSED)/Startup Mission and Women Entrepreneur Development Mission.
KSIDC reported growth in its loan portfolio to Rs865.30 crore as on March 31, 2023 compared with Rs815.10 crore, a year ago.
According to the statistics available with bbn, KSIDC has made sanctions worth Rs428.01 crore during FY2022 and Rs483.15 crore in FY2023.
“KSIDC will continue to benefit from strong financial and managerial support from the State Government on an ongoing basis over the medium term,” Acuité noted.
