India Inc performance improves in second half of 2021-22

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 : India Inc performance based on credit ratings improved sharply in the second half of the financial year 2021-22 on the back of sustained improvement in demand, secular deleveraging by debt issuers, and proactive relief measures by the government, CRISIL Ratings said.
The CRISIL Ratings credit ratio 1 (upgrades to downgrades) increased to 5.04 times in the second half (H2) of fiscal 2022, compared with 2.96 times in the first half (H1), underscoring continuing improvement in the performance of India Inc.
In all, there were 569 upgrades and 113 downgrades in the second half (H2) of 2021-22.
The upgrade rate increased to 15.4 per cent in H2 from 12.5 per cent in H1, while the downgrade rate declined to 3.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent in the same period. The downgrade rate is less than half the 6.5 per cent average seen in the past ten-and-a-half-year period, CRISIL Ratings said.
The performance comes on the back of a sustained improvement in demand (that lifted the revenues of most sectors to their pre-pandemic levels), secular deleveraging by debt issuers (seen over the past few fiscals and through the pandemic), and proactive relief measures by the government (that cushioned the pandemic blow), it said.
CRISIL Ratings' outlook on credit quality remains 'positive', with upgrades expected to outnumber downgrades in fiscal 2023, too. However, going forward, the credit ratio could moderate for two reasons: one, demand and profitability could soften if commodity prices remain high; and two, winding back of Covid-19 relief measures. Further, with offices reopening and business travel restarting, some of the cost savings of 2020-22 would be eliminated.
Demand recovery, nimbleness in managing supply chains, and a tight leash on costs have shored up the median operating profit growth of the upgraded companies by 41 per cent in the past two fiscals -- more than double the rate for the portfolio.