Corporate downgrade-to-upgrade ratio inches higher in FY24: Report

Domestic rating agency India Ratings and Research on Monday said there was a marginal uptick in the corporate downgrade-to-upgrades ratio in FY24, when compared to the year-ago period.

There were 312 upgrades as compared to 114 downgrades in FY24, which resulted in the ratio between the two coming at 0.37 per cent, which is marginally higher when compared to the 0.26 per cent in FY23, the city-based agency said.

"The pace of upgrades moderated while at the same time downgrades increased, both of them marginally by about one percentage point," its head of credit policy group Arvind Rao said.

However, the ratio at 0.37 per cent is still low, the agency said, attributing the performance of its rated entities to the continuing Indian growth story.

Its associate director Suparna Banerji said the upgrades were witnessed in investment, consumption and service sectors, while the downgrades in the textiles and construction sectors.

Meanwhile, its peer Care Ratings said it upgraded the ratings of 357 entities and downgraded 186 entities in the second half of just concluded FY24, leading to a ratio of 1.92, which was higher than the 1.67 in the first half of the fiscal.

Its senior director Ranjan Sharma said the downgrades were primarily observed in chemicals, textiles and cut and polished diamonds (CPD) sectors, primarily due to slowdown in export demand and Chinese competition, while the upgrades were from hospitality, realty, auto dealerships and jewellery retailers, reflecting healthy consumer spending in these sectors in India.