Milano, 7 luglio 2009 – Edison rende noto che l’agenzia di rating Moody’s ha confermato oggi, alla fine della propria review annuale, il merito di credito a lungo termine di Edison a Baa2. L’o utlook è stato rivisto da “stabile” a “negativo”. La revisione riflette, secondo Moody’s, la significativa riduzione nella domanda nazionale di elettricità e di gas nel 2009 e un possibile rallentamento della ripresa economica nel 2010.
Edison ha già implementato una serie di interventi operativi tali da mantenere lo sviluppo della società in linea con l’evoluzione attesa dello scenario economico. Edison ritiene che le azioni avviate, che coincidono con quelle indicate da Moody’s a protezione del credito, consentiranno alla società di perseguire la propria strategia di sviluppo mantenendo una flessibilità finanziaria tale da determinare entro breve tempo un recupero della stabilità dell’o utlook dell’attuale merito di credito.
Si riporta di seguito il testo integrale del comunicato stampa diramato da Moody’s:
Moody's changes outlook on Edison Spa's Baa2 to negative
Approximately EUR1.2 billion of debt affected
London, 07 July 2009 -- Moody's Investors Service today changed the rating outlook for the Baa2 senior unsecured ratings of Edison Spa to negative from stable.
The outlook change reflects the deterioration in the macroeconomic environment in Italy in 2009 which has led to a significant drop in demand for electricity and gas. This will reduce Edison's profitability at a time when the company's financial profile is already somewhat stretched following the USD1.4 billion acquisition of the Abu Qir concession in January 2009 and is likely to slow its financial recovery.
Electricity margins for gas-fired plant - the bulk of Edison's generation fleet - have, in particular, been squeezed and whilst there has been some recovery since early 2009, prices remain soft and the timing of a substantial recovery in both demand and prices is uncertain. Greater volumes of gas imported into Italy from 2009 onwards, at a time when demand is depressed, are also likely to reduce margins, although this will be partially mitigated in Edison's case by access to more attractively-priced gas via the Rovigo terminal.
Following the acquisition of Abu Qir, Moody's pointed out that Edison had limited flexibility at its current rating level, when also factoring the ambitious business plan announced at the time. Edison's investment plan, disclosed in December 2008, targets EUR4.6 billion of group capex for the 2009-11 period, although Edison signalled that EUR1.6 billion of this is flexible. Nonetheless, this would leave, on average, a sizeable EUR1 billion of investments per annum for this company, of which a significant proportion relates to both the acquisition and development of the fields in Abu Qir.
In order to change the outlook back to stable, Moody's would expect the company to demonstrate that it has taken the necessary measures to recover its financial profile in the intermediate term, this is likely to include (i) the expected execution of the disposal of a stake in Abu Qir (unlikely to be before 2010) and (ii) adapting its investment plan as necessary to expected lower levels of cash flow, given difficult market conditions, in order to demonstrate that the company can recover its financial profile beyond 2009 and achieve ratios in line with those indicated for the rating: Retained Cash Flow/net debt of at least 20% and FFO interest cover of 5-6x. Moreover, failure to take the necessary actions could lead to the rating coming under further downward pressure.
Moody's also notes that the EBITDA contribution from Abu Qir is forecast to increase significantly as from 2012, but points out as the company progressively relies on higher-risk cash flows, the parameters for its rating are likely to shift upwards.
Moody's previous rating action for Edison Spa was on 17 December 2008 when its rating was affirmed at Baa2, stable outlook following the announcement of the acquisition of the Abu Qir concession.
Edison's rating was assigned by evaluating factors believed to be relevant to the credit profile of the issuer, such as i) the business risk and competitive position of the issuer versus others within its industry or sector, ii) the capital structure and financial risk of the issuer, iii) the projected performance of the issuer over the near to intermediate term, and iv) the issuer's history of achieving a consistent operating performance and meeting budget or financial plan goals. These attributes were compared against other issuers both within and outside of Edison's core peer group and Edison's ratings are believed to be comparable to ratings assigned to other issuers of similar credit risk.
Edison Spa is Italy's second largest utility. It has an installed capacity of about 12,000 MW. In the natural gas area, Edison is Italy's second largest operator with activities in every aspect of the business: from exploration to production, importation, distribution and sales. Edison's agreement with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation grants Edison exploration, development and production rights of the Abu Qir Concession, offshore Egypt, to the north of Alexandria. In 2008, Edison had revenues of EUR 11.8 billion.
Obblighi informativi verso il pubblico previsti dalla delibera Consob n. 11971 del 14.5.1999 e successive modifiche.
