Rating service business revenues which constitute around 25% of total revenue improved 6% yoy basis at Rs 150.66 crore, while research services revenues which forms around 68% of total revenue increased 41% to Rs 406.82 crore. Advisory service business revenues (7% of revenues) jumped 17% to Rs 39.76 crore.

OPM has eased marginally by 38 bps to 25.8%. The operating profit surged 27% to Rs 154.08 crore. The Rating service business segmental PBIDT margin dipped to 38% as compared to 44% for December 2019 quarter and PBIDT thus declined 7% to Rs 57.98 crore. Research segment PBIDT stood at Rs 71.09 crore up by 15%, with margins easing to 17% as compared to 21% yoy. Advisory service segment also reported an improved segmental PBIDT of Rs 6.42 crore as compared to PBIDT of Rs 2.56 crore for December 2019 quarter.

Other income declined 25% to Rs 14.98 crore for December 2020 quarter. Depreciation stood at Rs 32.65 crore and interest expenses zoomed to Rs 3.71 crore. PBT stood at Rs 134.08 crore, up 1%. After providing total tax of Rs 24.04 crore, lower by 35% on yoy basis, consolidated PAT for December 2020 quarter of the company moved up 15% to Rs 110.04 crore.

CRISIL completed the acquisition of 100% stake in Greenwich Associates LLC (USA) and its subsidiaries (GA), on 26 February 2020, at a total value of US$ 40 million, which includes upfront and deferred consideration. The results attributable to GA includes a revenue of Rs 121.01 crore and post-tax loss of Rs 0.77 crore for the quarter ended December 2020 and a revenue of Rs 225.71 crore and post-tax loss of Rs 50.58 crore for the period from 26 February 2020 to 31 December 2020.

Excluding Greenwich, consolidated income from operations for the quarter ended December 2020, was higher by 2.6% and profit after tax higher by 16.2% compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Says Ashu Suyash, MD&CEO, CRISIL, says "Through a year like none other, CRISIL's businesses demonstrated resilience serving all its clientele with best in class insights, opinions and analytics. This coupled with our proactive pandemic response has enabled continued growth through 2020. The differentiated positioning and high quality of our offerings, global client delivery capabilities and strong client relationships will enable our businesses benefit from the expected economic recovery across the markets we operate. Our thrust on investments in technology, talent and new offerings over the years positions CRISIL well for the future."

Other updates

During the year, corporate bond market issuances rose by 7.9% by value year-on-year, while by volume they fell 8.1 %. In this environment, the differentiated positioning and quality of ratings of the company has enabled significant client wins. Constrained credit growth impacted the mid-corporate group, which offset growth in the Ratings segment. Global Analytical Center (GAC) increased surveillance delegation and coverage on research and criteria support, and partnered S&P Global Ratings for ESG products. The Ratings segment registered healthy growth of 6.5% in Q4CY2020 and 3.7% for CY2020.

CRISIL also completed the segregation of its credit ratings business into a wholly owned subsidiary, CRISIL Ratings Ltd, during Q4. This is pursuant to changes in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regulations, which required segregation of the ratings and non-ratings businesses of credit rating agencies. The segregation also follows the scheme of arrangement approved by the National Company Law Tribunal, and has no impact on the company's businesses and its stakeholders.

In the Research segment, the Global Research & Analytics business saw client wins and continued to grow through Q4. In addition to traditional areas such as model and traded risk, the business witnessed traction in non-financial and credit risk. India Research introduced new analytics and district-level risk tracking dashboards to aid decision making as the pandemic unfolded. The business also launched India's first AIF benchmarks. Greenwich saw good performance and was a key contributor to the segment's growth. But weak performance of Coalition, which saw headwinds due to cost pressures faced by global banks, offset this. The segment's year-on-year revenue growth was 40.9% in Q4 and 22.8% for 2020. Excluding Greenwich, revenue was lower by 1.0% in Q4 and higher by 1.2% for 2020.

The Advisory segment saw good traction during 04. New mandates were won in the areas of regulatory reporting, credit risk and select city infrastructure projects. However, delays in clients' decision making and implementation affected business. Overall, the segment grew a healthy 16.9% during the quarter, although the full year revenue was lower by 5.9%.

Towards ensuring minimal impact on clients and people, the company moved to a mandatory work from home for employees in late March, which continued through 2020 across most locations. This year, CRISIL launched a host of health and safety initiatives, and employee engagement and wellness sessions. Information security, governance and technology support also saw enhanced emphasis. Because of proactive investments in people and technology, all businesses remained fully functional through 2020 and continued to deliver seamlessly to clients and stakeholders.

Consolidated Performance – for year ended December 2020

Consolidated income from operations increased 14% to Rs 1981.83 crore for the year ended December 2020, compared with Rs 1731.72 crore in the previous year. Consolidated total income was Rs 2076.34 crore, compared with Rs 1814.54 crore in the previous year. Profit after tax rose 3% to Rs 354.73 crore, compared with Rs 343.95 crore in the previous year.

Rating service business which constitute around 29% of total revenue was up by 4% on yoy to Rs 565.04 crore, while Research services which forms around 65% of total revenue, was moved up 23% yoy to Rs 1282.71 crore. Advisory service business was down by 6% to Rs 134.08 crore.

OPM however was lower by 55 bps to 25.2% which resulted in 12% growth in the OP to Rs 499.28 crore.

The Rating service business segmental PBIDT margin was flat at 40% for year ended December 2020 and PBIDT rose 3% to Rs 226.72 crore. Research segment PBIDT stood at Rs 209.01 crore, down by 11% on yoy basis, with margins declining to 16% from 22%. Advisory service segment reported a segmental profit at PBIDT of Rs 10.07 crore with PBIDT margin at 8%.

Other income increased 14% to Rs 94.51 crore. Interest cost moved up to Rs 14.39 crore and depreciation zoomed to Rs 121.11 crore. PBT declined 7% to Rs 458.29 crore. After providing total tax of Rs 103.56 crore, down by 30%, consolidated PAT for the year ended December 2020 of the company rose 3% to Rs 354.73 crore.