$300 million in debt rated
New York, December 12, 2013 -- Moody's today assigned a B3 rating to Arch Coal's new $300
million Second Lien Senior Secured Notes maturing in 2019. At the
same time, Moody's affirmed all existing ratings, including
the corporate family rating (CFR) of B3. The outlook is negative.
The proceeds of this debt issuance, along with the $300 million
Term Loan B add-on announced last week, are expected to be
used to refinance the company's existing $600 million senior
unsecured notes due in 2016.
The refinancing transaction will be credit positive as it will extend
the maturity profile of the company's debt, enhancing its
ability to withstand the prolonged weak conditions in thermal and metallurgical
markets. Following the refinancing, the company's nearest
debt maturity will be $1.9 billion in Senior Secured Term
Loan B, including the new add-on, on May 16,
2018.
In connection with the transactions, the company will also obtain
more relaxed financial maintenance covenants on its currently unutilized
revolver whose size will be reduced to $250 million from $350
million. The revolver expires in June 2016. Given the revolver's
minimum liquidity requirement, we do not view the revolver as a
source of liquidity. But if the company were to utilize the revolver
for letters of credit and its total liquidity were to fall below the minimum
liquidity threshold, it would be required to fund the letters of
credit, resulting in additional debt or further decline in cash.
Following the transaction, the company's predominant source
of liquidity will be its $1.3 billion in cash and marketable
securities. The Speculative Grade Liquidity rating of SGL-2
continues to reflect our expectation that Arch will maintain a good liquidity
position, sufficient to accommodate the anticipated cash burn over
the next twelve to eighteen months.
Arch's ratings reflect the recent deterioration in performance due
to continuing weakness in the coal industry, and our expectation
that while both thermal and metallurgical markets have reached bottom,
the potential for material recovery in demand and pricing is limited.
Based on our assumptions of flat thermal spot prices over the next eighteen
months, and benchmark settlements for high quality metallurgical
coal of about $155, we expect average realization per ton
to decline in 2014 relative to 2013, with Debt/ EBITDA, as
adjusted by Moody's, exceeding 15x through the end of 2014 and annual
negative free cash flows in the $300 - $400 million
range.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Arch's B3 CFR continues to reflect very high levels of debt in the company's
capital structure, coupled with ongoing cash burn due to persistent
weakness in metallurgical and thermal coal markets. The ratings
also reflect the geographic and operating diversity, low level of
legacy liabilities, extensive high quality and low-cost reserves,
and access to multiple transportation options. Factors that constrain
the rating also include cost inflation, regulatory pressures on
coal and the inherent geological and operating risk associated with mining.
Negative outlook reflects our view that absent healthy recovery in coal
prices, the company will continue to burn cash. We believe
that in order for Arch's free cash flow to turn positive, coal prices
in the Powder River Basin (PRB) would need to increase to $13 -
$14 range (from current spot prices of around $11) and settlements
for high quality metallurgical coal would have to recover to $170
- $175 range.
The B3 rating on the Second Lien Senior Secured notes reflects their position
in the capital structure and priority of claims in event of default.
The notes are effectively subordinated to the first lien secured debt
rated B1, but have priority over senior unsecured debt rated Caa1.
The Second Lien notes are secured on a second priority basis by substantially
all assets of the company and its subsidiaries. The existing senior
secured credit facility is secured by the same assets on the first priority
basis.
The ratings could be upgraded should metallurgical and/or thermal coal
prices recover, such that the company's leverage, as adjusted,
is expected to track below 6x and free cash flow is expected to turn positive.
A further downgrade would result if liquidity deteriorates, if cash
burn does not subside, and/or Debt/ EBITDA is not expected to be
sustained below 7x after 2014.
The principal methodology used in this rating was the Global Mining Industry
published in May 2009. Other methodologies used include Loss Given
Default for Speculative-Grade Non-Financial Companies in
the U.S., Canada and EMEA published in June 2009.
Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for
a copy of these methodologies.
Arch Coal is one of the largest US coal producers which operates in all
of the major US coal basins. The company's production consists
mainly of low-sulfur thermal coal from its Power River Basin mines
and thermal and metallurgical coal from Appalachia. Over the 12
months ended September 30, 2013 the company generated $3.6
billion in revenue.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Anna Zubets-Anderson
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Brian Oak
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's Rates Arch's Second Lien Debt B3, Outlook Negative