Singapore, June 21, 2017 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has
assigned a Baa3 issuer rating to NHPC Limited.
The outlook on the rating is positive.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"NHPC's Baa3 rating reflects its baseline credit assessment
(BCA) of baa3. The ratings does not factor in any uplift from the
government due to the high baa3 BCA relative to Government of India's
Baa3 sovereign rating," says Abhishek Tyagi, a Moody's
Vice President and Senior Analyst. Moody's however expect
that the Indian government will provide strong support in the event that
extraordinary financial support is required, particularly in light
of its 74.5% ownership of NHPC.
"NHPC's standalone credit strength reflects its strong competitive
position, favorable regulatory environment for power sector in India,
strong financial profile and ongoing government support,"
Tyagi aads.
"NHPC's rating also incorporates the implementation risk associated
with the company's capex program which constrains its BCA,"
adds Tyagi.
Moody's expects NHPC to have the interest coverage as measured by
(CFO pre-WC + interest) / interest to range from 3.0x-4.5x
level and its financial leverage as measured by , CFO pre-WC
/ debt to be in the range of 15%- 22% over next 12-24
months which will continue to support its BCA.
NHPC is the largest hydro power generator of India and has long track
record of development of hydro power projects. NHPC is also one
of the lowest cost producers of electricity in India which underpins its
strong competitive position in the industry.
However, NHPC has a complex capex programme mainly due to the nature
of the hydro power industry. The construction of hydro power projects
in remote areas and geo-technically sensitive Himalayan terrain
has many challenges like geological and hydrological surprises,
landslides and flash floods. Moreover, large hydro projects
also require huge amount of land acquisition which is often opposed by
local population and sometimes becomes a law and order challenge as well.
These pose significant challenges for construction and most often than
not lead to project delays and time and cost overruns.
NHPC is a beneficiary of ongoing support from the Government of India.
Despite the weak finances of state-owned distribution companies,
NHPC has enjoyed a good track record of receipt of payments from distribution
companies over last 12 years since the establishment of Payment Security
Scheme. The Payment Security Mechanism is based on tripartite agreements
between central government, state governments and the Reserve Bank
of India, and these agreements ensure payments to NHPC in the event
of default by state owned distribution companies. The Government
also provides support to NHPC in resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R)
activities, acquisition of land, taking care of law and order
issues and also providing financial support in terms of soft loans.
Under the Moody's Joint Default Analysis (JDA) approach for government-related
issuers (GRIs), our assessment of government support for the company
is "High" and is manifested through several considerations. Specifically,
the government has 74.5% ownership and therefore closely
directs the activities of NHPC. The government also has a strong
track record of support, as shown by its previous actions that include:
(1) one time settlement scheme in 2003 which led to settlement of all
past dues of state-owned distribution companies (2) extending soft
loans to NHPC for certain strategic projects (3) establishment of Payment
Security Mechanism to take care of receivables from state owned distribution
companies.
NHPC's positive outlook is consistent with the outlook on the sovereign,
indicating that the rating would be upgraded if the sovereign rating is
upgraded.
Upward pressure on the rating is unlikely over the next 12-18 months,
based on the company's business profile and financial strategy.
The BCA of NHPC could come under pressure if CFO pre-WC / debt
declines below 13% on a consistent basis. Having said that,
NHPC's rating is resilient to a deterioration in the BCA.
Furthermore, a rating downgrade could result if the government reduces
its stake in NHPC to below 50% or evidence emerges of a weakening
in government support.
The methodologies used in this rating were Regulated Electric and Gas
Utilities published in December 2013, and Government-Related
Issuers published in October 2014. Please see the Rating Methodologies
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.
NHPC Limited was established in 1975 and is India's largest hydro
power generation company with an installed capacity of 6,717MW from
22 operational projects. The Company is presently engaged in construction
of three projects aggregating 3,130MW capacity. The company
is awaiting clearances to start work on another 4.9GW capacity
while another 1.1GW projects are in the pipeline. At end-March
2017, the Indian government owned around 74.5% of
NHPC. Life Insurance Corporation of India, the other major
shareholder, owned 9.14%. Institutional investors
and the public held the remaining shares.
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.
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.
Abhishek Tyagi
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Project & Infrastructure Finance
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
Terry Fanous
MD-Public Proj & Infstr Fin
Project & Infrastructure Finance
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