Hong Kong, May 15, 2017 -- Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Noble Group Limited's
corporate family rating and senior unsecured bond ratings to Caa1 from
B2, and the rating on its senior unsecured medium-term note
(MTN) program to (P)Caa1 from (P)B2.
The ratings outlook remains negative.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The downgrade reflects heightened concern over Noble's liquidity
stemming from its weak operating cash flow and large debt maturities over
the next 12 months," says Gloria Tsuen, a Moody's
Vice President and Senior Analyst.
"In addition, the company's loss during 1Q 2017 suggests
significant uncertainties over an operational turnaround and the high
likelihood of debt leverage remaining elevated," adds Tsuen.
Noble's liquidity headroom — including readily available cash
and unutilized committed facilities — was at $2.4
billion at end-1Q 2017 compared with $2.0 billion
at end-2016, helped by the issuance of a $750 million,
five-year senior unsecured bond in March.
However, after paying down $650 million in bank debt and
the maturity of a revolving credit facility in early May 2017, the
headroom would have narrowed to $1.2 billion and become
insufficient to cover the $2.1 billion in debt due for the
rest of 2017 and 1H 2018.
Moreover, Moody's expects its profitability and operating
cash flow to remain weak over the next 12 months, which would further
worsen its liquidity position and make it more difficult to renew or refinance
the maturing debt.
Moody's expects that the company will not return to profitability
this year and EBITDA will be at depressed levels. As a result,
Noble's adjusted net debt/EBITDA should be above 10x over the next
12 months when compared with the 7.6x registered in 2016.
Likewise, its adjusted EBITDA/interest should decrease to below
1.0x from 1.6x in 2016.
On 11 May 2017, Noble announced that its reported loss before interest
and tax reached $107 million in 1Q 2017, compared with a
profit of $125 million a year ago. The company said the
weak performance was driven mainly by dislocations in the coal market,
where the decoupling of long-term price correlations impacted hedging
activities. Working capital also used up $223 million in
cash, and as a result cash flow from operations was negative $323
million in 1Q 2017.
Noble's senior unsecured ratings are not notched down for legal
subordination, as secured debt totaling $721 million remained
below 15% of total reported debt at end-March 2017.
However, any further increase in secured debt would lead to an application
of notching and would therefore pressure the senior unsecured ratings.
The negative outlook on the ratings reflects the company's weak
liquidity over the next 12 months and significant uncertainty around its
ability to rebuild and reposition its operations to improve profitability
and cash flow.
The ratings outlook could return to stable, if the company can generate
positive earnings and operating cash flow and maintain cash balances at
levels more than sufficient to cover its maturing debt over the next 12
months.
However, Noble's ratings are likely to be downgraded if its
cash flow from operations or liquidity deteriorates further.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Trading Companies
published in June 2016. Please see the Rating Methodologies page
on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
Noble Group Limited is the largest global physical commodities supply
chain manager in Asia by revenue. Its diversified activities across
the supply chain include the sourcing, storage, processing,
transportation, and distribution of over 20 commodity products.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Mr. Richard Elman, holds
an approximate 18% stake in the company. China Investment
Corporation — the Chinese sovereign wealth fund — owns about
10%.
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.
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.
Gloria Tsuen, CFA
Vice President - Senior Analyst
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
Gary Lau
MD - Corporate Finance
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