CRISIL Limited announces financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020

The Board of Directors of CRISIL Ltd, at its meeting today, approved the unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

CRISIL's consolidated income from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, rose 11.3% to Rs 485.0 crore, compared with Rs 435.9 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2019. Consolidated total income for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, was up 8.8% to Rs 522.0 crore, compared with Rs 479.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The appreciating rupee had an impact on the quarter. Profit after tax for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, was Rs 90.2 crore, compared with Rs 105.1 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Numbers for the quarter include that of Greenwich Associates LLC (Greenwich), which was acquired in Q1 2020. Excluding this, consolidated income from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, was higher by 0.3% and profit after tax higher by 5.1% compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, consolidated income from operations was up 9.2% to Rs 1,384.6 crore, compared with Rs 1,267.4 crore in the corresponding period of 2019. Consolidated total income increased 10.1% to Rs 1,464.1 crore, compared with Rs 1,330.3 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Consolidated profit after tax was Rs 244.7 crore, compared with Rs 248.6 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Consolidated income from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, was higher by 1.0% and profit after tax up by 18.5% compared with the previous year, excluding the financials of Greenwich.

The Board of Directors has declared third interim dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2020, of Rs 7 per share (of Re 1 face value).

Says Ashu Suyash, Managing Director & CEO, CRISIL, "Covid-19 has altered the business dynamics of organisations globally. CRISIL's proactive and planned responses have meant all our businesses remain fully functional through this prolonged pandemic. Driven by our commitment to stakeholders and markets, we have seen client wins across ratings, research and analytics. Growth during the quarter was led by continued uptick in our global risk analytics business, especially in the traded- and model-risk segments. Our ongoing focus on digital and excellence has enabled profitable growth during the period."

While unlocking gathered pace in the third quarter, business sentiment continues to be muted because of sharp slowdown across investment and consumption oriented sectors. Capital markets issuers declined materially by 21% during the quarter, while systemic credit growth remains subdued. However, despite the weak environment, CRISIL Ratings strengthened its leading position in the corporate bond market. The Global Analytical Center (GAC) increased its coverage for S&P Global Ratings, including support for key initiatives such as environmental, social and governance evaluations, and inferencing impact of Covid-19. Overall, given the slackness, the segment de-grew 4% during the third quarter.

Growth in the Research segment was led by the Global Research & Analytics business, which saw strong demand for risk and transformation services. Fundamental research saw a tepid performance because of anticipated sell-side restructuring. India Research launched new industry reports and a district-level Covid19 dashboard, which received good response. Coalition saw delays in client conversions given the impact of the pandemic across global financial services. The business continues to invest in new products and analytics to meet the needs of new clients. The integration of Greenwich is on track and focus is on client renewals and new mandates. The Research segment revenue grew by 22.1% during the third quarter. Excluding Greenwich, the segment growth was 3.5%.

Growth in the Advisory segment was muted given across-the-board reduction in infrastructure spends. Some risk platform implementation delays are being experienced as banks in India have deferred milestones given the impact of Covid-19. Nonetheless, we continue to see demand for our risk assessment models and early warning signals. Overall, the segment saw 6.4% de-growth during the quarter.

In keeping with CRISIL's people-first approach, we launched thematic wellness webinars and a singlepoint assistance program called CRISIL Care Medical Assistance Scheme for employee health-related concerns. Our investments in technology, multi-country presence, the analytical nature of our offerings as also timely and decisive steps towards remote work continue to stand the company in good stead, driving business continuity, service and product quality, and employee welfare.

CRISIL continued to publish impactful analysis and insights. The quarter saw 50+ press releases, 10+ opinion pieces and several whitepapers being published on topical matters. Roundtables on areas such as credit risk management and stress testing, and 18 webinars across sectors including steel, cement, pharma, telecom were hosted during the quarter.

CRISIL was certified as a Great Workplace by the Great Place to Work Institute during the quarter. CRISIL was also recognised among 100 best companies for women by Working Mother and Avtar.

Apart from its work on environment conservation and financial literacy, CRISIL Foundation leveraged its Sakhi network to spread awareness on Covid-19 including use of masks, washing hands, other preventive measures as also about government benefits in this situation.

Shares of CRISIL LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.1876.7 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 1865.65. The total number of shares traded during the day was 2288 in over 773 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 1899 and intraday low of 1821.1. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 4268051.

Source : Equity Bulls

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