Lypsa Gems and Jewellery Ltd said it reduced its secured debt by 25% by repaying a loan of Rs 75 mn to Bank of India.
As of today, its debt stands at Rs 235 mn, down from Rs 31O mn as of 31st March 2016, it said. Debt Equity Ratio has dropped from 1.03x to 0.75x.
Lypsa is amongst one of the very few diamond Companies to have initiated Debt Repayment.
The Gems and Jewellery segment is supposed to be the biggest creator of non-performing loans for public-owned banks, estimated to account for between 12-15% of the total NPAs.
Jeeyan Patwa, CFO and Director, Lypsa Gems and Jewellery Ltd. said, “Lypsa is actively trying to reduce its debt and minimize its annual interest outgo to boost profitability. We are trying to tobring down our debt and become debt free very soon. This will bring down our annual interest cost and lead to much better profitability. we are focused to not only to grow and expand our business but also increase our profitability which will only create more value for our shareholders.”
The gems and jewelry sector is among the worst hit by an economic slowdown, several big players in the sector have added their debt to the list of non-performing assets of India’s government-owned banks.
Lypsa Gems & Jewellery Ltd. is a diamond company sourcing rough diamonds from the major diamond miners and dealers.
It also sells diamond studded jewellery under the ‘Oropel’ and Lypsa Atelier brand names.
Lypsa Gems and Jewellery DMCC is its wholly owned subsidiary and focuses on rough diamond, polished diamond and diamond studded jewellery trading activities.