RATING RATIONALE 24 June 2021 Tata Steel Ltd. Brickwork Ratings
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RATING RATIONALE 24 June 2021 Tata Steel Ltd. Brickwork Ratings withdraws the rating of perpetual securities aggregating Rs.2500 Cr and reaffirms ratings for the unsecured Non-Convertible Debentures/Bond Issues aggregating ₹. 4000.00 Crores of Tata Steel Ltd. Particulars: Previous Present Amt Rating History Current Rating* Instrument Tenor Amt (Rs. Cr) (Rsin Crs) Nov 2020* Unsecured NCD 1000 1000 Long BWR AA (Stable) BWR AA Stable Term (Reaffirmation) Unsecured NCD (2) 3000 3000 Unsecured Subordinated Perpetual 1500 - Securities Long BWR AA- Withdrawal on Unsecured Term Stable Redemption Subordinated Perpetual 1000 - Securities (3) Total 6500 4000 (Rupees Four Thousand Crore Only) *Please refer to BWR website www.brickworkratings.com/ for the definition of the ratings 2 Issue Amount is Rs.1500 Cr 3. Issue Amount is Rs.775 Cr RATING ACTION – Withdrawal and Reaffirmation Brickwork Ratings (BWR) withdraws the rating of BWR AA- (Stable) of Unsecured Subordinated Perpetual Securities aggregating Rs.2500 Cr on Redemption and reaffirms the rating of the unsecured non-convertible debenture (NCD) issues aggregating Rs.4000 Cr of Tata Steel Ltd. (TSL or the company). The rating continues to derive strength from the professional management, group support and diversified product portfolio with backward-integrated operations in India in the form of captive iron ore and coal mines, making it one of the lowest-cost producers of steel and the market leader in EBITDA per tonne and improved operating performance in 2HFY21 with higher steel prices www.brickworkratings.com Page 1 of 18 and demand coupled with improved leverage profile with repayment of approximately Rs.27500 Cr of gross debt at consolidated level in FY21. The rating is, however, constrained by the uncertainty with regard to European operations and inherent risk associated with the steel industry with volatility in raw material prices. The Stable outlook indicates sustainability of operations in near future with robust demand outlook coupled with high steel prices. BWR believes TSL’s business risk profile is expected to improve in the medium term with expected improvement in demand backed by recovery of the economy. ANALYTICAL APPROACH AND APPLICABLE RATING CRITERIA BWR has analysed TSL on a consolidated basis. For arriving at its ratings, BWR has applied its rating methodology as detailed in the Rating Criteria below (hyperlinks provided at the end of this rationale). KEY RATING DRIVERS Credit Strengths: Key entity to Tata Group, with professional management – Tata Steel is a key listed entity of the well-known Tata Group, which has a track record of servicing borrowings and access to financial markets. The group is one of the largest conglomerates in India, with over 100 operating companies in key business sectors such as steel, automotive, information technology, engineering, energy, aviation, power, mining, consumer products and chemicals. The group, through its parent holding company for all group companies, Tata Sons Private Limited, owned a 32.93% stake in TSL as on 31st March 2021.The company is led by experienced and qualified management professionals. Captive iron ore and coal mines help maintain operating margins in high-input-cost scenario: TSL’s domestic operations are well-integrated with captive power and mining operations, which meet 100% of its iron ore requirements and around 29% of its metallurgical coal requirements (excluding Tata Steel Bhushan Ltd. (TSBSL) and Tata Steel Long Products Limited). Therefore, TSL (India operations) is among the most low-cost steel producers in the world. TSL’s Indian operations continue to be the highest EBITDA generators among peers. Diversified product portfolio: TSL is one of the most geographically diversified steel producers, with operations in various countries and a commercial presence in more than 50 countries globally. The company’s product mix includes flat products such as hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils and galvanise steel, and long products such as wire rods, rebar, ferro alloys, tubes, bearings and wires. The product segments cater to agriculture, automotive, construction, consumer goods, energy and power, engineering and material handling, among others. Focus on strengthening Indian market: Tata Steel’s key market is still India, which accounts for 61% of its global steel volumes sold, 58% of consolidated revenues and 93% of consolidated operating profit as a result of a strong operating environment and the company’s backward www.brickworkratings.com Page 2 of 18 integration into producing its key raw materials of iron ore and coking coal. The acquisition of the steel business of UML has further helped strengthen Tata Steel's business profile. For FY21, Indian Operations earned an EBITDA per tonne of Rs. 16515 which is the highest among its peers for its Indian operations. Brownfield expansion of 5mt at Kalinganagar is restarted by the company and the expansion is expected to be completed by FYE24 and the capex is expected from internal accruals as informed by the management. Improved Operating Performance during 2HFY21 coupled with improved leverage profile: After the challenging 1HFY21 due to Covid-19 causing the uncertainties and complexities, there has been improvement in steel prices and demand with opening up of global as well as domestic economy and revival of end user industry segment including infrastructure and automobiles. During FY21, consolidated basis, the company earned revenue of Rs. 156294 Cr and EBITDA of Rs. 30892 Cr as against the revenue of Rs. 148972 Cr and EBITDA of Rs. 18103 Cr in FY20. With strong operating cash flows, the company repaid Gross debt of approximately Rs.28000 Cr during FY21 which led to reduction of Gross debt from Rs. 116328 Cr as on March 31, 2020 to Rs. 88501 Cr as on March 31, 2021. As per the guidance shared by the management, the company will continue to thrive for debt reduction FY22 as they are planning to reduce minimum Rs.7000 Cr further in FY22. With continues spur in steel prices and demand with revival of economy, BWR expects TSL to sustain the current operating performance in the near to medium term. Credit Risks: Subdued performance of European operations: TSL’s European operations continued to be EBITDA negative for FY21 as steel demand remained under pressure with continued weakness in end user industry, more focus on steel imports and lack of backward integration. To strengthen the European operations , TSL has initiated the process to separate Tata Steel Netherlands (9 million tonnes) and Tata Steel UK (3 million tonnes) to pursue separate strategic paths for the Netherlands and UK business in future. It is mainly UK operations which are dragging down the cash flows of TSL’s European Operations. Of the Consolidated gross debt of Rs.88501 Cr, Rs. 18816 Cr pertains to European Operations. TSL has refinanced the debt in FY20 and is due for repayment in FY25 and FY26. The management is continuing its dialogue with the UK government for potential measures to safeguard the long-term future of Tata Steel UK Volatility of raw material prices: The Company’s margins are exposed to volatility in raw material prices, which are ultimately passed on to customers, but with a drag. LIQUIDITY INDICATORS (Adequate): As on March 31, 2021, as on standalone basis, the company had cash and cash equivalent of Rs. 8130 Cr and on consolidated basis, the company had cash and cash equivalent of Rs. 13,114 Cr and unutilised working capital line of Rs.6970 Cr. www.brickworkratings.com Page 3 of 18 KEY RATING SENSITIVITIES: Positive: ● A sustained improvement in revenue and profitability with debt coverage indicators ● Improvement in European Operations. Negative: ● A deterioration in revenue and profitability with decline in coverage indicators ● A delay in the turnaround of European operations, which will drag down the consolidated EBITDA and lead to the pile-up of the consolidated debt COMPANY PROFILE Tata Steel Ltd. (TSL) was established in 1907 and is one of the flagship companies of Tata Group. The company is one of the most geographically diversified steel producers, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in more than 50 countries. The product mix of the company includes flat products such as HR coils, CR coils and galvanised steel, and long products such as wire rods, rebar, ferro alloys, tubes, bearings and wires. The company also owns coal, iron ore, and manganese and chrome mines at various locations. The company is 100% backward integrated with respect to the iron ore requirement and 29% backward integrated for the coal requirement for domestic operations. In June 2016, the company sold its UK longs business, including Scunthorpe Steel Works (with a capacity of 4.5 MTPA) to Greybull Capital. The company now has two principal facilities in the Netherlands and UK with a total steel production capacity of 12.6 MTPA. TSL has acquired TSBSL (Tata Steel BSL Ltd. (erstwhile Bhushan Steel Ltd.) in May 2018, having an installed capacity of around 5.6 MTPA). TSL has completed the acquisition of Usha Martin’s steel business through Tata Sponge Iron Limited (currently Tata Steel Long products limited), a subsidiary of Tata Steel, for a cash consideration of Rs. 4,094 Cr. It comprises a specialized, approximately 1-MTPA alloy-based manufacturing capacity, in the long products segment based in Jamshedpur and captive power plants. KEY FINANCIAL INDICATORS Rs. Crore TSL - Consolidated TSL - Standalone FY20 FY21 FY20 FY21 Total Operating Income 1,39,817 1,56,294