Rating Rationale
November 01, 2022 | Mumbai
ABB India Limited
Ratings Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.8500 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL AAA/Stable (Reaffirmed)
 
Rs.100 Crore Commercial Paper CRISIL A1+ (Reaffirmed)
Note: None of the Directors on CRISIL Ratings Limited’s Board are members of rating committee and thus do not participate in discussion or assignment of any ratings. The Board of Directors also does not discuss any ratings at its meetings.
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to Annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
 

Detailed Rationale

CRISIL Ratings has reaffirmed its ‘CRISIL AAA/Stable/CRISIL A1+’ ratings on the debt programmes and bank facilities of ABB India Limited (ABB India).

 

The ratings continue to reflect the company’s healthy market position, strong support from its ultimate holding company, ABB Ltd (rated ‘A-/Stable/A-2’ by S&P Global Ratings), and robust capital structure. These strengths are partially offset by susceptibility to intense competition and exposure to cyclicality in the industry.

 

In 2021, the company’s operating performance improved in terms of total operating income and operating margins and is expected to recover further over the medium term, with healthy growth prospects across the company’s diverse business segments, as reflected in orders worth Rs 7666 crore as on Dec 31, 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, the company reported profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 513 crore and operating income of Rs 4,021 crore. Furthermore, the financial risk profile remains strong, as reflected in the absence of any debt obligation and cash balance of around Rs 3,000 crore as on Oct 12, 2022.

Analytical Approach

For arriving at the ratings, CRISIL Ratings has notched up the ratings of ABB India for the distress support available from its parent, ABB Ltd

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description

Strengths:

  • Healthy market position in the power and automation technology segments

ABB India is the market leader in electrification and automation products. The company’s strong market position is supported by access to the latest technologies from ABB Ltd, diverse product portfolio, cost-competitive operations, wide geographical reach and strong market penetration through channel partners.

 

  • Strong operational, technological and management support from ABB Ltd

Research and development operations of the ABB group are centralised, and ABB India pays royalty to ABB Ltd for them. ABB Ltd also provides management support through delegates on the board of ABB India. ABB Ltd views emerging markets as a key growth opportunity and plans to expand its manufacturing footprint in India, China, Brazil and the Middle East. ABB Ltd will continue to support ABB India in the long term.

 

  • Robust financial risk profile

The financial risk profile is supported by a robust capital structure and nil debt. Networth was strong at around Rs 4,027 crore as on December 31, 2021. The company repaid all its external debt in fiscal 2018 and has been debt-free since then. It may undertake annual capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 100-150 crore over the medium term, which will be funded comfortably through internal accrual.

 

Weakness:

  • Susceptibility to intense competition

ABB India operates in an increasingly competitive market scenario that has several domestic as well as international players. Most of the orders are procured through competitive bidding, which, along with the macroeconomic slowdown, has resulted in heightened competition and pressure on profitability. To counter this, the company has been focusing on cost optimisation and has increased indigenisation of many products. Although its continued focus on cost efficiency will help arrest the decline in the operating margin to some extent, the company will remain susceptible to intense competition over the medium term.

Liquidity: Superior

ABB India has ample liquidity, driven by expected cash accrual of more than Rs 550 crore per annum and cash and equivalents of around Rs 2,700 crore as on December 31, 2021. Fund-based limit of Rs 150 crore remained unutilised in 2021. The company is debt-free and has planned capex of Rs 100-150 crore per annum, for which it has sufficient accrual and cash and equivalents. Its unutilised bank lines are more than adequate to meet the incremental working capital requirement over the medium term.

Outlook: Stable

ABB India will maintain its strong market position, supported by its technological superiority. The company will also maintain its robust financial risk profile given its strong capital structure, healthy liquidity and support available from the parent.

Rating Sensitivity factors

Downward factors

  • Decline in order inflow or sustained fall in the operating margin to less than 5%
  • Downward revision in the credit rating or rating outlook of ABB Ltd by S&P Global
  • Change in stance or support philosophy of ABB Ltd towards ABB India

About the Company

ABB India is one of India’s leading global technology and automation company and has been operational for more than seven decades. It has plants in Bengaluru in Karnataka, Faridabad in Haryana, Nashik in Maharashtra and Vadodara in Gujarat. The company operates in four business areas: electrification (EL), motion (MO), process automation (PA) and robotics and discrete automation (RA). The Electrification business offers a wide-ranging portfolio of products, digital solutions and services, from substation to socket, enabling safe, smart and sustainable electrification; motion business is the largest supplier of drives and motors; process automation business offers a broad range of solutions for process and hybrid industries, including industry-specific integrated automation, electrification and digital solutions, control technologies, software and advanced services, as well as measurement & analytics, and marine offerings; while robotics & discrete automation business provides value-added solutions in robotics, machine and factory automation

 

The ABB group holds 75% in ABB India through its subsidiary, ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, Zurich.

 

Over the six months ended June 30, 2022, the company reported profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 513 crore and operating income of Rs 4,021 crore against PAT of Rs 211 crore and operating income of Rs 3,054 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Key Financial Indicators (CRISIL Ratings-adjusted numbers)

As on/for the period ended Dec 31

2021

2020

Revenue

Rs crore

6934

5821

PAT

Rs crore

520

219

PAT margin

%

7.5

3.8

Adjusted debt/adjusted networth

Times

-

-

Interest coverage

Times

40.11

15.3

 

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL Ratings` complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments and are included (where applicable) in the ‘Annexure – Details of Instrument’ in this Rating Rationale.

CRISIL Ratings will disclose complexity level for all securities – including those that are yet to be placed - based on available information. The complexity level for instruments may be updated, where required, in the rating rationale published subsequent to the issuance of the instrument when details on such features are available.

For more details on the CRISIL Ratings` complexity levels please visit www.crisil.com/complexity-levels. Users may also call the Customer Service Helpdesk with queries on specific instruments.

Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)

ISIN

Name of instrument

Date of allotment

Coupon

rate (%)

Maturity

date

Issue size

(Rs crore)

Complexity level

Rating assigned

with outlook

NA

Commercial Paper

NA

NA

7-365 days

100

Simple

CRISIL A1+

NA

Fund-Based Facilities

NA

NA

NA

508

NA

CRISIL AAA/Stable

NA

Non-Fund Based Limit

NA

NA

NA

3416

NA

CRISIL AAA/Stable

NA

Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits

NA

NA

NA

992

NA

CRISIL AAA/Stable

NA

Proposed Non Fund based limits

NA

NA

NA

3584

NA

CRISIL AAA/Stable

 

Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2022 (History) 2021  2020  2019  Start of 2019
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund Based Facilities LT 1500.0 CRISIL AAA/Stable   -- 27-12-21 CRISIL AAA/Stable 30-06-20 CRISIL AAA/Stable 07-11-19 CRISIL AAA/Stable CRISIL AAA/Stable
      --   -- 22-06-21 CRISIL AAA/Stable   -- 25-06-19 CRISIL AAA/Stable --
Non-Fund Based Facilities LT 7000.0 CRISIL AAA/Stable   -- 27-12-21 CRISIL A1+ / CRISIL AAA/Stable 30-06-20 CRISIL A1+ 07-11-19 CRISIL A1+ CRISIL A1+
      --   -- 22-06-21 CRISIL A1+   -- 25-06-19 CRISIL A1+ --
Commercial Paper ST 100.0 CRISIL A1+   -- 27-12-21 CRISIL A1+ 30-06-20 CRISIL A1+ 07-11-19 CRISIL A1+ CRISIL A1+
      --   -- 22-06-21 CRISIL A1+   -- 25-06-19 CRISIL A1+ --
Non Convertible Debentures LT   --   --   -- 30-06-20 Withdrawn 07-11-19 CRISIL AAA/Stable CRISIL AAA/Stable
      --   --   --   -- 25-06-19 CRISIL AAA/Stable --
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of Bank Lenders & Facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Name of Lender Rating
Fund-Based Facilities 100 Deutsche Bank CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 1 Axis Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 1 ICICI Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 10 IDBI Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 1 YES Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 25 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 350 JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. CRISIL AAA/Stable
Fund-Based Facilities 20 Bank of America N.A. CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 600 Axis Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 1 HDFC Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 825 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 500 ICICI Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 450 IDBI Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 100 JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 100 Standard Chartered Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 240 YES Bank Limited CRISIL AAA/Stable
Non-Fund Based Limit 600 Deutsche Bank CRISIL AAA/Stable
Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits 992 Not Applicable CRISIL AAA/Stable
Proposed Non Fund based limits 3584 Not Applicable CRISIL AAA/Stable

This Annexure has been updated on 01-Nov-22 in line with the lender-wise facility details as on 06-Aug-21 received from the rated entity.

Criteria Details
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Approach to Financial Ratios
Rating criteria for manufaturing and service sector companies
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
CRISILs Criteria for rating short term debt
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Parent Support

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