London, 15 December 2014 -- Moody's Investors Service has today assigned a limited default (LD)
designation to Mechel OAO's Ca-PD probability of default rating
(PDR). Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the PDR rating.
There are no changes to Mechel's other ratings, including
its Caa3 corporate family rating. The outlook remains negative.
"Our decision to assign a limited default designation to Mechel's
PDR, follows the company's announcement that it had suspended
principal and cut interest payments on its debt obligations in the third
quarter," says Denis Perevezentsev, a Moody's
Vice President -- Senior Analyst and lead analyst for the issuer.
"The Arbitrage Court of Moscow's recent ruling, which
acknowledged interest payment default by Mechel on at least one of its
credit facilities, confirms the company's statement."
RATINGS RATIONALE
The change in Mechel's PDR to Ca-PD/LD follows the company's
announcement that it had suspended principal payments to financial institutions
and cut interest payments. Mechel's decision is further corroborated
by the Arbitrage Court of Moscow's decision, which on 5 December
2014 established interest payment default of RUB3.0 billion (approximately
$55 million at current exchange rate) by Mechel on one of its credit
facilities with Bank VTB, JSC (Baa3, negative). The
decision was published on 11 December 2014.
The suspension of principal and/or interest payments falls under Moody's
definition of default.
The company has agreed upon a restructuring agreement with Gazprombank
(Ba1 negative), the terms of which has not been made publicly available,
and is currently in negotiation with Sberbank (Baa2 negative) and Bank
VTB, JSC. Debt owed to the latter three, which are
state-controlled banks, comprises 68% of Mechel's
debt portfolio as of 1 December 2014 and therefore consensual restructuring
with these three banks is of pivotal importance for Mechel to remain a
going concern.
On the positive side, Moody's noted a degree of improvement
in Mechel's performance in the third quarter. Although Mechel's
absolute debt levels decreased to $7 billion as of 1 December 2014
from $9 billion as of 31 December 2013, mainly as a result
of sharp rouble devaluation as 53% of Mechel's debt is denominated
in roubles, this level of debt is unlikely to be sustainable.
A wider restructuring of Mechel's debt may be necessary considering
its substantial maturities of $2.07 billion and $2.17
billion due in 2015 and 2016, respectively, while cash level
as of 30 September 2014 amounted to only $72 million.
RATING OUTLOOK
The negative outlook reflects the potential for further downward pressure
to be exerted on Mechel's Caa3 corporate family rating if (1) the
company fails to complete the consensual restructuring plan with its lenders,
possibly resulting in bankruptcy; or (2) actual debt restructuring
results in a substantial loss, particularly in the form of severe
write-downs on the principal for lenders.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING -- DOWN/UP
Negative pressure on the Caa3 corporate family rating would result from
Mechel's inability to complete a consensual restructuring, which
would probably leave no other alternative than bankruptcy.
Upward pressure on the rating is currently unlikely. However,
Moody's would consider an upgrade of the rating if the company manages
to complete its restructuring. This would lead to a more sustainable
capital structure with a reduced debt burden and better liquidity cushion.
Positive rating pressure would also require signs of a gradual recovery
in the reference markets for the company, especially the currently
depressed coal prices.
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in this rating was Global Mining Industry
published in August 2014. Please see the Credit Policy page on
www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
Mechel OAO is a vertically integrated mining and metals group.
Its business comprises three segments: mining, steel and power.
The group produces coal, iron ore, ferrosilicon, as
well as long (rebar, wire rod, structural shapes, etc),
and carbon flat-rolled steel products, engineered steel,
hardware and other high value added steel products. Mechel's products
are sold domestically and internationally, with approximately 71%
of mining segment sales and 18% of steel segment sales (2013) made
outside of Russia. The group's subsidiaries are located in Russia,
Ukraine, Lithuania, and the US. Mechel owns three trade
ports and a transport operator.
In 2013, Mechel reported revenue of $8.6 billion (a
19% decrease year-over-year) and EBITDA of $0.7
billion (a 50% decrease year-over-year). Mechel
is majority owned by its Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr.
Igor Zyuzin, who controls 67.4% of the voting shares.
After its initial public offering in 2004, 32.6% of
the company's shares are in free float.
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.
Denis Perevezentsev
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
Telephone: +7 495 228 6060
Facsimile: +7 495 228 6091
Jean-Michel Carayon
Senior Vice President
Corporate Finance Group
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Moody's changes PDR of Mechel to Ca-PD/LD on suspension of debt payments