Hong Kong, April 15, 2019 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B1 senior unsecured rating to
the proposed USD bonds to be issued by Central China Real Estate Limited
(CCRE, Ba3 stable).
CCRE will use the proceeds from the proposed bonds to refinance existing
debt.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The proposed bonds — which will be mainly used for debt refinancing
— will not have a material impact on CCRE's credit metrics,
but they will improve the company's liquidity and debt maturity profile,"
says Kaven Tsang, a Moody's Senior Vice President and also the Lead
Analyst for CCRE.
CCRE's Ba3 corporate family rating (CFR) reflects its leading market position
and long operating track record in Henan Province. The rating also
takes into consideration the company's track record of achieving stable
growth in contracted property sales over the past five years.
At the same time, the CFR reflects CCRE's geographic concentration
in Henan Province that will expose it to potential volatility in the province's
economy, as well as any changes in the local government's regulatory
restrictions on property purchases and construction activities.
Its high level of exposure to joint ventures will also raise contingent
liabilities.
Moody's expects CCRE's contracted sales will grow to around RMB60-70
billion in the next 12-18 months after registering strong 76.5%
year-on-year growth to RMB53.7 billion in 2018.
In the first three months of 2019, the company's contracted sales
remained robust with a 44.4% year-on-year
increase to RMB8.2 billion.
The solid sales performance will support the company's revenues and EBIT
growth in the next 12-18 months, which will partly mitigate
in turn the effect of rising debt to fund its fast-growth plan.
Moody's expects CCRE's revenue/adjusted debt, including from its
shares in joint ventures, to improve to around 80% over the
next 12-18 months from Moody's estimates of 64% in 2018.
Moody's also expects adjusted EBIT/interest, including from its
shares in joint ventures, to improve to 3.0x-3.5x
in the next 12-18 months, compared to Moody's estimates of
3.0x for 2018.
CCRE's revenue/adjusted debt ratio, including from its shares
in joint ventures, fell to 64% in 2018 from 96.7%
in 2017 as the company raised debt at both the consolidated level and
at joint ventures to support its fast growth in contracted sales.
However, the growth in contracted sales will only be reflected in
revenues in the next 1-2 years.
Meanwhile, CCRE's EBIT/interest, including from its
shares in joint ventures, rose slightly to 3.0x in 2018 from
2.8x in 2017, as the sharp improvement of its gross margin
to 34.4% in 2018 from 23.6% in 2017 more than
offset the increase in interest expenses.
Moody's expects CCRE will maintain adequate liquidity. CCRE
reported unrestricted cash totaling RMB14.2 billion at the end
of 2018. Adjusted cash/short-term debt — including
amounts due to and from its joint ventures — was at 134%
at the same time.
The B1 senior unsecured debt rating is one notch lower than the corporate
family rating due to structural subordination risk.
This risk reflects the fact that the majority of claims are at its operating
subsidiaries and have priority over claims at the holding company in a
bankruptcy scenario. In addition, the holding company lacks
significant mitigating factors for structural subordination.
As a result of these factors, the expected recovery rate for claims
at the holding company will be lower.
The stable rating outlook reflects Moody's expectation that CCRE can maintain
(1) its leadership position in Henan Province and generate sales growth;
(2) adequate liquidity levels; and (3) a disciplined approach to
land acquisitions.
An upgrade could occur if CCRE (1) consistently achieves its sales targets;
(2) demonstrates a track record of good financial discipline by keeping
adjusted cash/short-term debt above 2.0x, adjusted
revenue/debt above 90%, and adjusted EBIT/interest above
4.0x, all on a sustained basis (the ratios are adjusted for
its joint-venture financials); and (3) broadens its geographic
coverage in a disciplined manner and strengthens its offshore banking
relationships.
The ratings could come under downward pressure if (1) CCRE experiences
a significant declines in sales; (2) the company suffers a material
decline in its profit margins; (3) CCRE accelerates its expansion,
such that its liquidity position deteriorates or its debt levels rise
materially, or both; or (4) construction stoppages become more
frequent and the company is unable to make up for the lost time and misses
deadlines on project deliveries.
Specific indicators for a downgrade include (1) adjusted cash/short-term
debt below 1.0x-1.5x; (2) adjusted EBIT/interest
consistently below 2.5x-3.0x; or (3) adjusted
revenue/debt below 70%-75% on a sustained basis.
The ratios are adjusted for its joint-venture financials.
The principal methodology used in this rating was Homebuilding And Property
Development Industry published in January 2018. Please see the
Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of
this methodology.
Central China Real Estate Limited is a leading property developer in Henan
Province, with a land bank of 34.66 million square meters
in attributable gross floor area at the end of 2018. It was founded
in 1992 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2008.
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 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.
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Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
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for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
The first name below is the lead rating analyst for this Credit Rating
and the last name below is the person primarily responsible for approving
this Credit Rating.
Kaven Tsang
Senior Vice President
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Franco Leung
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077