Sintex Industries reported consolidated quarterly results showing Net Sales at Rs 591.54 crore in March 2019 down by 4.17% from Rs. 617.27 crore in March 2018. Quarterly Net Loss at Rs. 91.27 crore in March 2019 down from Rs. 57.42 crore in March 2018. They also defaulted on nonconvertible debentures (NCD) worth Rs 86 crore, a day after a rating downgrade by CARE Ratings, the company said in an exchange filing. CARE Ratings downgraded the company to “issuer non-cooperating” category as it had failed to provide information for monitoring of the rating and also had not paid the surveillance fees for the rating exercise.
The default by Sintex follows the company’s reporting a massive fall in its profit to Rs 21.5 crore in the fiscal ended 31 March, 2019 from Rs141.8 crore in the same period a year ago. Sintex’s net debt also increased to Rs 5,871 crore in FY19, from Rs 5,294 crore in FY18. “The industry is facing turbulent scenario, with a glut in overseas markets coupled with US China trade war, the realisation in the domestic markets too has shrunk for the quarter under review resulting in a hit on the EBITDA margins. It will gradually improve as the industry stabilizes and the trade war subsides,” said Amit Patel, group Managing Director, Sintex Industries.
The company’s debt coverage indicators during FY19 remained weak due to lower than envisaged total operating income and net loss incurred during the fourth quarter. Sintex Plastics too saw its revenue fall to Rs 4,774 crore in fiscal 2019, from Rs 5,607 crore in the previous year, while profit reduced to Rs94.5 crore from a profit of Rs173.6 crore in the last year. Last year, Sintex’s Plastics Technology raised Rs 1,250 crore from private equity fund KKR India and its affiliates to refinance debt and finance growth in the B2C business in retail plastics and auto and defence plastics. It also planned to use the capital to improve cash flows and augment brand building. It is noted that besides water tank, Sintex also offers doors and PVC boards.