Singapore, January 05, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa2 rating to HKT Capital No.
1 Limited's proposed USD senior unsecured zero coupon notes due
2030. HKT Capital No. 1 is a direct and wholly-owned
subsidiary of Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited (HKT, Baa2
stable).
The proposed notes will be irrevocably and unconditionally, jointly
and severally guaranteed by Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited
and its parent, HKT Group Holdings Limited (HKT Group, unrated).
The rating outlook is stable.
HKT Group is a direct and wholly owned subsidiary of HKT Limited (unrated),
which in turn is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
HKT is an indirect and wholly owned subsidiary of HKT Group and is HKT
Limited's principal operating entity. Moody's therefore
considers HKT Limited's operating and financial metrics when assessing
HKT's credit risk profile.
The bond proceeds will be used primarily to refinance existing debt,
including, PCCW-HKT Capital No.3 Limited's USD500
million (HKD3.9 billion) notes due July 2015.
RATINGS RATIONALE
While HKT Limited has paid down its debt by using cash proceeds from its
rights issue in July 2014, its adjusted debt/EBITDA is likely to
remain in the 3.0x-3.5x range over the next 12 months.
Furthermore, this pre-financing will cause a temporary spike
in HKT Limited's leverage as of June 2015, if the proceeds
are not used to pay down debt imminently.
"HKT Limited's leverage remains high for its Baa2 rating",
says Nidhi Dhruv, a Moody's Assistant Vice President and Analyst.
"Nevertheless, this is partially mitigated by the company's
strong operating profile as the only quad-play operator in Hong
Kong, along with the internet protocol TV (IPTV) business of its
parent, PCCW Limited (unrated), and leading market positions
in all services."
HKT Limited's absolute debt level is likely to remain almost unchanged
over at least the next 12 months, because it will use its operating
cash flows to fund capex and distributions to shareholders, rather
than to repay debt.
Moody's expect that HKT Limited will refinance all of its debt when
they come due. HKT Limited should have no need to increase its
debt facilities, in the absence of a fundamental shift in its business
model or a major acquisition.
"HKT Limited's 1H 2014 results were in line with our expectations.
Its revenue grew 13% year-on-year, and its
EBITDA grew 15% over the same period, reflecting stable performances
from its telecommunications services segment, as well as the consolidation
of CSL with its mobile business," adds Dhruv who is also Moody's
Lead Analyst for HKT.
Moody's expects that while PCCW's media business will maintain solid growth
in excess of 10% in 2014 and 2015 by cross selling its IPTV services
to HKT Limited's expanded mobile customer base — due to the acquisition
of CSL — PCCW's EBITDA margin for its media business is likely to
stay in the 10%-15% range, given its higher
content costs.
The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that HKT Limited
will maintain its leading market position in all major segments,
keep its adjusted debt/EBITDA within the 3.0x-3.5x
range, and maintain an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 40%,
on a sustained basis.
Upward rating pressure is unlikely because HKT Limited's high leverage
for its rating level is a situation which is likely to persist.
However, a rating upgrade would be possible if HKT Limited retains
its solid market positions in all major segments and improves its financial
profile significantly.
Specific metrics that Moody's will consider for an upgrade include:
adjusted debt/EBITDA of less than 2.75x-3.00x on
a sustained basis, adjusted EBITDA margins in excess of 45%,
and retained cash flow/debt improving to 25%.
Downward pressure on the rating could materialize if: (1) HKT Limited
loses its leading market positions in Hong Kong; (2) the cooperation
between PCCW's IPTV business and HKT Limited decreases; or (3) HKT
Limited pursues an aggressive distribution and investment strategy that
results in its debt levels rising.
Specific indicators for a rating downgrade include: (1) adjusted
debt/EBITDA exceeding 3.75x; or (2) adjusted EBITDA margins
of less than 35%.
We will also consider the actions of PCCW and any negative impact on the
credit profiles of Hong Kong Telecommunications and HKT Limited.
The principal methodology used in this rating was Global Telecommunications
Industry published in December 2010. Please see the Credit Policy
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited — the former incumbent
integrated telecommunications provider in Hong Kong — is wholly
owned by HKT Group Holdings Limited, which in turn is wholly owned
by HKT Limited.
HKT Limited is 63%-owned by PCCW Limited.
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.
Nidhi Dhruv
Asst Vice President - 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
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Laura Acres
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (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
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Moody's assigns Baa2 to HKT's senior unsecured guaranteed notes; outlook stable