Singapore, November 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Macrotech Developers Limited's
(MDL) Caa1 corporate family rating (CFR) and Caa1 senior secured rating
of Lodha Developers International Limited's USD bonds guaranteed by Macrotech
Developers Limited.
At the same time, Moody's has changed the outlook on the ratings
to stable from negative.
The rating action follows MDL's results announcement for the quarter
ended 30 September 2020 and the repayment of the construction loan for
Grosvenor Square (GSQ) -- one of its London projects -- through
a combination of recent collection proceeds and a four-year inventory
financing facility.
"The ratings affirmation and change in outlook to stable reflect
MDL's improved liquidity position following (1) the refinancing
of its construction loan for GSQ, and (2) a gradual recovery in
the company's operating performance, which will result in
higher earnings and cash flow," says Sweta Patodia,
a Moody's Analyst.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Even though MDL's liquidity position has improved significantly
over the last six months, the company continues to face sizeable
debt maturities of around $800 million in both India and London
over the next 18 months.
MDL plans to meet its upcoming obligations via its internal cash flow
generation and through obtaining further extensions on its project loans
in India, keeping the company exposed to the uncertain macroeconomic
environment.
While the company's operating performance has started to recover
in India following a sharp slump in the quarter ended June 2020,
this is partly due to pent-up demand and the ongoing festive season
in India. But local market conditions remain favorable for home
buyers as interest rates and property prices are at multi-year
lows. This environment will continue to support housing demand
in the country at least over the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, the company's operating performance in London is
yet to pick-up. Even though the pace of new sales remaining
slow, the company has managed to collect around GBP280 million from
existing sales at GSQ in the quarter ended September 2020 despite the
pandemic. Moody's expects sales to pick-up gradually
over the next few months as the economy starts to recover.
While the company is working on securing other financing sources,
they will only be executed over the next few months. As such,
lower-than-expected sales and collections would weaken its
internal cash flow generation and exert pressure on the company's
liquidity and rating.
MDL's Caa1 rating primarily reflects a high degree of refinancing
risk although Moody's positively notes the steps taken by the management
to improve the company's liquidity over the last six months.
The ratings also consider the company's position as the leading
developer of residential properties in India and the large size of its
land bank.
ESG considerations
In terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors,
the rating incorporates governance risks arising from the company's concentrated
ownership structure and its aggressive financial policies.
Outlook
The stable outlook on MDL's Caa1 CFR reflects Moody's expectations
that a gradual recovery in operating sales and collections will keep its
liquidity needs manageable over the next 12-18 months.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
The rating may be upgraded to B3 if the company is able to maintain the
current momentum in its operating sales and collections in India,
such that they recover to pre-pandemic levels of around INR65 billion
- INR70 billion per year, while its liquidity requirements
remain manageable over the next 12-18 months. An improved
operating performance in London will also be imperative for an upgrade.
The rating may be downgraded to Caa2 if the company's operating
sales and collections fail to recover in line with Moody's expectations
and weaken its liquidity position. Alternatively, further
instances of debt moratoriums and extensions that allow the company to
avoid a payment default or result in any economic loss to lenders could
be construed as a distressed exchange and pressure the ratings.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Homebuilding And Property
Development Industry published in January 2018 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1108031.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
Macrotech Developers Limited is the largest real estate developer in India
by sales of residential apartments. The company is focused on residential
developments in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, with some projects
in nearby Pune. The company — along with its promoters —
has also expanded into the London market and has two projects in the city
namely, Grosvenor Square and Lincoln Square.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and
sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and
Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's
Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of
debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures
in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the
same series, category/class of debt, security 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 credit rating action on the
support provider and in relation to each particular credit 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 credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit 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.
The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated
agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy
for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on
its website www.moodys.com.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social
and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1133569.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed
by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt
am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.
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.
Sweta Patodia
Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Vikas Halan
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077