CRISIL Awards Top Rating to Technopark for Financial Stability

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Top rating agency CRISIL has accorded ‘CRISIL A/Stable’ rating to Electronics Technology Parks Kerala (Technopark) on the long-term bank facilities for the second consecutive year, reaffirming the strong financial stability and track record of the premier Information Technology hub.

CRISIL, the foremost provider of ratings, data, research, analytics and solutions, retains ‘CRISIL A/Stable rating for Technopark in its latest review dated 24th July 2020. The rating reflects Technopark’s steady cash flow with diversified clientele occupancy and healthy debt protection metrics, backed by sufficient liquidity.

It vouches that Technopark maintains its pre-eminent position in the IT sector as it enters its 30th year, despite the gloom cast by COVID-19 globally, resulting in a major shift to work-from-home mode.

“The current rating incorporates the positive track record of Technopark and the future expectations of revenue growth. It is significant that CRISIL has noted that Technopark’s outlook is sound, considering its financial stability and track record”, said Sasi PM, CEO, IT ParksKerala.

The key factors that led to the high rating of the institution included steady cash flow with full occupancy in Phases I and III, diversified clientele and long-term lease agreements. The rating agency noted that the management’s pro-active approach towards property maintenance has helped retain tenant continuity and asset quality.

It said the firm’s liquidity is healthy as steady revenue flow from lease rent is sufficient to meet debt obligation over the medium term. Also, it has ample liquidity of Fixed Deposits and bank balance to meet its daily operations as well as debt servicing. The regular & systematic review mechanism, especially on its finance, has helped Technopark progress from D (Default) rating in 2014, further to BB, then to BBB and now at A/Stable (2 notch upgrade) since last year’s review.

Set up by the Government of Kerala in 1990, Technopark Trivandrum is the flagship brand of Kerala IT. It is the first technology park of the country. Technopark is a CMMI Level 4, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 & OHSAS 18001:2007 certified Technology Park. Technopark at present houses over 450 companies in the IT and IT-enabled sector, with a total of 62,000 employees.