Shares in Gati tumble after credit rating downgrade

(Reuters) - Shares in India's Gati Ltd closed down 10 percent on Monday after ratings agency CARE downgraded the credit rating for the logistics company, citing a drop in profitability and decline in revenue from operations.

CARE cut its rating on Gati's long-term bank facilities to BBB from A-, and downgraded short-term bank facilities to A3+ from A2+, according to a regulatory filing.

Shares in Gati, which focuses on courier work, fell as much as 12.9 percent in the session before closing just off its lows.

Investors are paying closer attention to rating downgrades after the government rescued shadow banking firm Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), whose rapid decline spooked investors and sent Indian markets lower.

The rating agency said Gati had raised additional debt in the fiscal year leading to higher repayment obligations in this fiscal year.

The ratings agency said it was also taking account of the risk associated with support extended by Gati to a hydro power company, Gati Infrastructure.

Gati said in its June quarterly report that it had extended a loan to the unit worth 200.1 million rupees ($2.70 million), and was "confident" of recovering the funds in due course.

Gati had also said it gave operational advances worth 201.5 million rupees to parties, which is "long overdue and the full recoverability of which is doubtful."

Gati said late on Monday that its "management does not envisage any risk arising from the corporate guarantee extended to Gati Infrastructure Pvt Ltd."

It also said volumes and performance were expected to improve in the upcoming Indian festive season.

($1 = 74.0450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sharnya G in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Edmund Blair)