ICRA reaffirms ‘AA’ rating to Merck’s bank facilities

Credit rating agency ICRA has reaffirmed ‘AA’ rating to the enhanced Rs 30.75 crore fund based and Rs 13.50 crore non-fund based bank limits of Merck. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable. The existing rating takes into account the company’s parentage, strong presence in Vitamin Therapeutic area and product portfolio, robust brand image, increasing presence of chemical business bringing diversity to revenues, strong financial profile characterised by profitable operations and moderately high return on capital employed and strong liquidity in the form of cash reserves Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical enterprise. In the pharmaceutical segment major products include vitamins, nutritional supplement, cardio vascular, respiratory, hematinics, cough and cold, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), antibiotics, oral rehydration salts and encephalotropics.