The ratings of GRIs ALROSA, IRKUT, Kamaz, Russian Helicopters are not affected by the action on the sovereign
London, 01 April 2014 -- Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for downgrade
the Baa1 senior unsecured issuer rating of the Government-related
Issuer (GRI) Russian Railways Joint Stock Company and the Baa1 senior
unsecured rating of RZD Capital PLC, which is the issuer of loan
participation notes for the sole purpose of financing loans to Russian
Railways. Concurrently, Moody's has placed on review
for downgrade the Baa2 senior unsecured issuer rating of Federal Passenger
Company OJSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian Railways.
These rating actions follow Moody's placement of Russia's
Baa1 government bond rating on review for downgrade on 28 March 2014.
For additional information, please refer to the related announcement:
https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-places-Russias-Baa1-government-bond-rating-on-review-for--PR_294200
The ratings and outlooks of GRIs Kamaz OJSC (Ba1 stable), IRKUT
Corporation JSC (IRKUT; Ba2 stable), Russian Helicopters JSC
(Ba2 negative) and ALROSA OJSC (Ba3 positive) are not affected by the
action on the sovereign.
RATINGS RATIONALE
RATIONALE BEHIND REVIEW FOR DOWNGRADE FOR RUSSIAN RAILWAYS AND FEDERAL
PASSENGER COMPANY
The placement of Russian Railways' Baa1 senior unsecured issuer
rating on review for downgrade reflects Moody's view that (1) Russian
Railways has strong linkages with the government and the company's
rating remains constrained by that of the sovereign; and (2) Russian
Railways continues to depend on the government's willingness to
maintain the scope of its support (including tariff indexation,
subsidies, equity injections and long-term low interest-rate
financing) at a level sufficient for Russian Railways to maintain its
financial metrics in line with its conservative financial policy.
The placement of Federal Passenger Company's Baa2 senior unsecured
issuer rating on review for downgrade reflects its close linkage with
Russian Railways' rating, as Federal Passenger Company is
dependent on both the government's and Russian Railways' ability
to provide financial support in the event of financial distress,
as well as on the operating framework set by the government and Russian
Railways.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN
Upward pressure on Russian Railways' and Federal Passenger Company's
senior unsecured issuer ratings is unlikely at present, given the
current review for downgrade. Moody's could confirm the ratings
if it were to confirm Russia's government bond rating at the current
level, provided there is no material deterioration in company-specific
factors, including operating and financial performance and liquidity.
At this point, considering its solid standalone profile, Moody's
expects that the rating of Russian Railways is unlikely to be different
from the rating of the sovereign at the end of the rating review.
Moody's would downgrade Russian Railways' senior unsecured
issuer rating if it were to (1) downgrade the rating of the Russian government;
or (2) revise downwards its assessment of the probability of the government
providing extraordinary support to the company in the event of financial
distress.
Moody's could downgrade Federal Passenger Company's senior
unsecured issuer rating if it were to (1) downgrade the rating of Russian
Railways; or (2) revise downwards its assessment of the probability
of the Russian government or Russian Railways providing financial support
to Federal Passenger Company in the event of financial distress.
In addition, Moody's could downgrade the company's rating
if its financial metrics or liquidity were to deteriorate materially,
or if the share of secured debt in the company's total debt were
to increase. Considering the strong standalone profile of Federal
Passenger Company, Moody's expects that its rating would be
confirmed if the rating of Russian Railways is confirmed.
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY FOR RUSSIAN RAILWAYS AND FEDERAL PASSENGER COMPANY
The principal methodologies used in rating Russian Railways Joint Stock
Company and RZD Capital PLC were Global Surface Transportation and Logistics
Companies published in April 2013, and Government-Related
Issuers: Methodology Update published in July 2010. The principal
methodologies used in rating Federal Passenger Company OJSC was Global
Passenger Railway Companies published in March 2013. Please see
the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these
methodologies.
Russian Railways is the 100%-state-owned monopoly
owner and operator of Russia's rail infrastructure and provider
of freight and passenger rail transportation services. As of year-end
2012, the group had approximately 1.2 million employees.
In 2012, Russian Railways generated revenue of RUB1.54 trillion
($49.6 billion), of which 73% was contributed
by freight transportation services.
Established in 2009, Federal Passenger Company is the leading long-distance
passenger railway transportation company in Russia, with a market
share of around 95% by passenger turnover. Federal Passenger
Company owns and operates a fleet of 22,894 railcars (as of year-end
2013). Federal Passenger Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Russian Railways, the 100%-state-owned monopoly
owner and operator of Russia's rail infrastructure. In 2012,
Federal Passenger Company generated revenue of RUB182 billion ($5.9
billion; excluding state subsidies) and transported 104 million passengers.
COMMENTS ON OTHER GRIs
The ratings and outlooks of GRIs Kamaz, IRKUT, Russian Helicopters
and ALROSA are not affected by the action on the sovereign because a one
notch downgrade of the sovereign would only modestly erode the probability
of these GRIs receiving support from the sovereign. The support
for these GRIs is categorised as strong for Kamaz, IRKUT and Russian
Helicopters and as moderate for ALROSA. In addition, at this
point Moody's does not expect that their standalone rating profile
will be substantially affected by the weakening of Russia's economic
strength, or the conflict with Ukraine and the related uncertainty
over future policy actions, or that the current solid positioning
of their standalone profile will be sufficient to absorb a degree of potential
erosion of cash flows.
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.
Artem Frolov
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Limited, Russian Branch
7th floor, Four Winds Plaza
21 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya St.
Moscow 125047
Russia
Jean-Michel Carayon
Senior Vice President
Corporate Finance Group
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Moody's announces actions on GRIs: Russian Railways and its subsidiary Federal Passenger Company on review for downgrade