India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has affirmed Steel Strips Wheels (SSWL) long-term issuer rating at 'A-'. The outlook is stable.

SSWL credit profile improved in FY16, driven by an improvement in sales volume and operating profitability. Its net leverage improved to 3.7x (FY15: 4.9x; FY14: 5.9x), while gross interest coverage improved to 3.5x (2.7x, 2.6x).

The overall volume of wheels sold increased 5.6% yoy to 13.3m, driven by sales volume growth in the passenger vehicle (PV: 9.3% yoy) and commercial vehicle (CV: 48.2% yoy) segments. However, the sales volumes of two and three wheelers and tractors declined 9.9% and 10.6% yoy, respectively.

Shares of the company gained Rs 3.75, or 0.86%, to settle  at  Rs 440.00.  The total volume of shares traded  was  1,772 at  the BSE (Monday).