Shapoorji Pallonji Group Repays Additional Rs 750 Crore Dues To Sterling And Wilson Solar

Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the promoters of Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd., repaid an additional Rs 750 crore to the solar engineering, procurement and construction company, taking its total repayment to Rs 1,000 crore from the date of its listing.

The outstanding dues from Sterling and Wilson Pvt. Ltd. and Sterling and Wilson International FZE stand reduced to Rs 1,644 crore as of Dec. 31 from Rs 2,563 crore on the date of listing on Aug. 21, 2019, according to its exchange filing.

The promoters, who were supposed to repay the entire inter-corporate loan to the company within 90 days of the date of its listing (that is by Nov. 18), had repaid only Rs 250 crore, including interest, by Nov. 14. The balance as on Sept. 30, 2019, was Rs 2,341 crore. The promoters had then sought more time from the company’s board to repay the balance amount.

While the promoters on Dec. 31 repaid a part amount, they also proposed a timeline to facilitate repayment of the balance loan amounts.

The 154-year-old Shapoorji Pallonji Group, controlled by billionaire Pallonji Mistry and his family, said it would repay Rs 500 crore of the balance amount on or before March this year and another Rs 500 crore by the end of June. The promoter group would repay the remaining outstanding amount after the first two tranches on or before Sept. 30, 2020, the filing said.

Shapoorji Pallonji’s group-level debt increased from Rs 28,000 crore in March to Rs 30,000 crore as on Sept. 30, 2019, CARE Ratings said in a Nov. 26 report. The company’s standalone debt stood at Rs 9,019 crore as of September 2019.

Also Read: Why Shapoorji Pallonji Group Is Facing A Tough Time In Credit Markets

According to the company’s statement to BloombergQuint in November, around Rs 3,000 crore of Shapoorji Pallonji’s standalone debt, including commercial paper, was due for repayment in the second half of the ongoing fiscal ending March 2020.

Shares of Sterling and Wilson Solar have declined 33 percent since Nov. 14 to date compared with a 3.5 percent gain in the Nifty Index in the same period. On Thursday, they fell 0.62 percent to Rs 329.70 apiece.