Rating Rationale
March 19, 2018 | Mumbai
ABB India Limited
Ratings Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.8500 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL AAA/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Short Term Rating CRISIL A1+ (Reaffirmed)
 
Rs.600 Crore Non Convertible Debentures CRISIL AAA/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Rs.100 Crore Commercial Paper CRISIL A1+ (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

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

The ratings continue to reflect the company's established market position in the power and automation technology segments, strong support from its ultimate holding company, ABB Ltd (rated 'A/Stable/A-1' by S&P Global Ratings) and its robust capital structure. These rating strengths are partially offset by the susceptibility of the company's operating margin to intense competition and its exposure to structural issues in power sector.

Analytical Approach

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

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Established market position in the power and automation technology segments: ABB India is the market leader in switchgears, power electronics, drive-relays, and several other transmission, distribution, and automation products. The company's strong market position is supported by its access to the latest technology 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: The research and development operations of the ABB group are centralised; ABB India pays royalty to ABB Ltd for accessing the same. ABB Ltd also provides management support through delegates on the board of ABB India. ABB Ltd views emerging markets as one of the key growth opportunities and is planning to expand its manufacturing footprint in India, China, Brazil, and the Middle East. CRISIL believes that ABB Ltd will continue to support ABB India over the long term.

* Strong financial risk profile: ABB India has a strong financial risk profile, marked by a robust capital structure and low debt levels.

Weaknesses
* Susceptibility of profitability to structural issues in the power sector and to competition: ABB India's operating margin is susceptible to structural issues in the power segment, impeding project execution, and to intense competition between domestic and international players in this segment.
Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes that ABB India will maintain its strong market position over the medium term, supported by its technological superiority. The company will also maintain its robust financial risk profile over this period given its strong capital structure, prudent funding of capex, and support from ABB Ltd. The outlook may be revised to 'Negative' if the company's order inflow is adversely affected, if it faces sustained erosion in its operating margin, or if there is a change in stance of support from ABB Ltd. The outlook may also be revised if S&P revises its credit rating on ABB Ltd.  

About the Company

ABB India is one of India's largest integrated power equipment manufacturers and has been operational for more than 7 decades. It has plants in Bengaluru (Karnataka), Faridabad (Haryana), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Mysore (Karnataka), Nashik (Maharashtra), Halol (Gujarat), Savli (Gujarat), and Vadodara (Gujarat). The company has four divisions: Electrification Products (EP), Robotics and Motion (RM), Industrial Automation (IA) and Power Grids (PG). The power business, which includes PG and EP divisions provides turnkey solutions for integrated power systems, high and medium-voltage sub-stations, power-line carrier communication equipment, relay-controlled panels, networking management, solar inverters, and services. The automation business, which includes RM and IA divisions provide solutions for fast-growing robotics segment, industrial motors, drives , turnkey process automation, optimisation solutions, and complete electrical solutions to sectors such as cement, metals, minerals and mining, pulp, paper, chemicals, petrochemicals, and marine.

The ABB Group holds 75 per cent in ABB India through its subsidiaries ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, Zurich, and ABB Norden Holdings AB, Sweden.

Key Financial Indicators
As on/for the period ended Dec 31 2017 2016
Revenue Rs Crore 9087 8648
Profit after tax Rs Crore 419 376
PAT Margins % 4.6 4.4
Adjusted Debt/Adjusted Networth Times 0.17 0.19
Interest Coverage Times 11.08 8.61

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments. The CRISIL complexity levels are available on www.crisil.com/complexity-levels. Users are advised to refer to the CRISIL complexity levels for instruments that they consider for investment. 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 Cr) Rating Assigned with Outlook
INE117A08019 Non-Convertible Debentures 4-Sep-2015 Daily Compounding MIBOR + 80 bps 4-Sep-2018 600 CRISIL AAA/Stable
NA Commercial Paper NA NA 7-365 days 100 CRISIL A1+
NA Overdraft# NA NA NA 1000 CRISIL AAA/Stable
NA Letter of Credit & Bank guarantee NA NA NA 6400 CRISIL A1+
NA Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits^ NA NA NA 500 CRISIL AAA/Stable
NA Proposed non-fund based limits^ NA NA NA 600 CRISIL A1+
^Limits are unallocated
#Interchangeable with cash credit/short term loan/working capital demand loan
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2018 (History) 2017  2016  2015  Start of 2015
Instrument Type Quantum Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Commercial Paper  ST  100  CRISIL A1+    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  CRISIL A1+ 
Non Convertible Debentures  LT  600  CRISIL AAA/Stable    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  31-07-15  CRISIL AAA/Stable  -- 
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  1500  CRISIL AAA/Stable    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  CRISIL AAA/Stable 
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  7000  CRISIL A1+    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  CRISIL A1+ 
Table reflects instances where rating is changed or freshly assigned. 'No Rating Change' implies that there was no rating change under the release.
Annexure - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating
Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 6400 CRISIL A1+ Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 6400 CRISIL A1+
Overdraft# 1000 CRISIL AAA/Stable Overdraft# 1000 CRISIL AAA/Stable
Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits^ 500 CRISIL AAA/Stable Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits^ 500 CRISIL AAA/Stable
Proposed Non Fund based limits^ 600 CRISIL A1+ Proposed Non Fund based limits^ 600 CRISIL A1+
Total 8500 -- Total 8500 --
^Limits are unallocated
#Interchangeable with cash credit/short term loan/working capital demand loan
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Approach to Financial Ratios
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
Rating criteria for manufaturing and service sector companies
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation
CRISILs Criteria for rating short term debt
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Parent Support

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