Rating Rationale
July 24, 2020 | Mumbai
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Rating outlook revised to 'Negative'; ratings reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.60000 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL AA/Negative (Outlook revised from 'Stable' and rating reaffirmed)
Short Term Rating CRISIL A1+ (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has revised its outlook on the long-term bank facilities of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to 'Negative' from 'Stable' and reaffirmed the 'CRISIL AA' rating, and has reaffirmed the 'CRISIL A1+' rating on the short-term bank facilities.
 
The revision in outlook reflects moderation of financial risk profile owing to weaker than expected operating performance, elongation in working capital cycle and the continued depletion in net cash levels of the company during fiscal 2020. Further CRISIL believes that BHEL's profitability will remain subdued and its large working capital requirement will weaken its financial risk profile and further erode its net cash position.
 
BHEL reported operating income of Rs 21,486 crore and operating loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of Rs 233 crore during fiscal 2020, against operating income of Rs 30,204 crore and operating profit before interest tax depreciation and amortisation of Rs 2,091 crore in the previous fiscal. The operating performance was severely impacted by slower order execution on account of site unavailability and delays in customer clearance, further aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic in the otherwise seasonally strong fourth quarter. As per the management, around Rs 4,000 crore of revenue was lost in the fourth quarter because of supply chain disruptions starting from January 2020 on account of the pandemic. Operating performance in fiscal 2021 is likely to be impacted by the lockdown continuing in the first half of the fiscal, resulting in labour shortage, and with the social distancing norms affecting labour efficiency and resumption of work at many sites.
 
BHEL's working capital intensity remains high. Though receivables in value terms have declined, they remain high due to increase in contract assets on account of large back-ended contract payments. Furthermore, timely payments to micro, small and medium enterprises (as seen in lower payables as on March 31, 2020) limit flexibility to fund working capital by stretching payables.
 
Due to subdued operating performance and large working capital requirement, BHEL's net cash (gross cash and equivalent less gross borrowings) continued to deplete and reduced to Rs 1,485 crore as on March 31, 2020, from around Rs 5,100 crore a year earlier. In the middle of fiscal 2020, BHEL had set a target to achieve net cash position of around Rs 5,000 crore by March 2020, but could not achieve the target on account of slow order execution and lower-than-anticipated collections. CRISIL believes the net cash position has depleted in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 as the quarter has historically been a deficit quarter and the lockdown for the most part of it has affected revenue and cash collection. Management focus on improving collection along with various cost rationalisation measures could support the cash balance to some extent, and this remains a key monitorable.
 
CRISIL has noted the various initiatives taken by BHEL such as Quality First, strategies to control material cost, focus on cash collection, and exploring new opportunities to diversify revenue. However, the efforts are yet to fructify in the form of improvement in financial performance.
 
BHEL's market position in the power generation and electrical equipment segment remains strong. Order book remained flat as of March 2020 at Rs 1,08,443 crore compared to Rs 1,08,680 crore as of March 2019, with 81% being executable. CRISIL believes addition of thermal power capacity by central and state public sector unit (PSUs) over the next five years will help sustain the order book, considering the strong market position of BHEL in the power BTG (boilers, turbines and generators) segment. The order book is supported by improved order prospects in diverse businesses such as transportation, defence and emission control.
 
The ratings continue to reflect BHEL's leading position in the power generation and electrical equipment markets, healthy order book and strong, though moderating, financial risk profile. These strengths are partially offset by structural issues in the power sector (which contributes over 73% to revenue), sizeable working capital requirement due to substantial receivables, and exposure to intense competition.

Analytical Approach

For arriving at the ratings, CRISIL has combined the business and financial risk profiles of BHEL's joint venture (JV), Raichur Power Corporation Ltd (RPCL), on a moderate consolidation basis and has not considered any other subsidiary or JV. This is because BHEL enters into JVs with state governments to obtain the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract of power projects on nomination basis. The company's management has indicated that it does not extend financial support to these JVs and has a clause for potential exit once the project is completed. For RPCL, further equity infusion may be required to support the project. CRISIL has considered net provisions for arriving at the operating profit before depreciation, interest and taxes.

Please refer Annexure - List of entities consolidated, which captures the list of entities considered and their analytical treatment of consolidation.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Leading position in the power generation and electrical equipment markets: BHEL is the leading player in India's power and industrial electrical equipment market and accounts for 53% of the country's installed capacity of conventional power projects. Cost competitiveness and superior execution capability support its dominant market presence and it is well poised to benefit from structural recovery in the power sector. However, given the ongoing challenges in the operating environment, timely execution of orders and realisation of receivables will be critical over the medium term.

* Healthy order book: A healthy order book and market position provide strong revenue visibility for the medium term. Order inflow remained stable at Rs 23,547 crore in fiscal 2020 (at a similar level in the previous fiscal). Some of the large orders received were for supply and installation of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems in Chhattisgarh and Telangana and turbine generators in Uttar Pradesh. BHEL also aims to get business through replacement demand, transportation sector, emission control, transmission and rural electrification. Order inflow and profitability remain key monitorables.

* Strong, but moderating, financial risk profile: The financial risk profile has moderated but remains comfortable, backed by strong networth and nil term debt. Liquidity, supported by the cash balance and unutilised bank lines, is sufficient to fund working capital and capex requirements over the medium term.

Weaknesses
* Structural issues in the power sector: The power segment has traditionally contributed 70-80% to the revenue of BHEL. The company's profitability is susceptible to structural issues and volatility in the power sector, such as excess capacity leading to limited capacity addition, delays in land acquisition and environmental clearances, fuel availability and funding challenges, and weak financial position of many state power utilities that form its major clientele. Over the past several years, structural issues have slowed execution of some projects. Although BHEL has been focusing on diversifying revenue by expanding into segments such as transportation, transmission, renewables, emission control and defence in the past few years, the power sector is expected to remain the key revenue driver over the medium term.

* Sizeable working capital requirement due to substantial receivables: The company has sizeable receivables resulting in high working capital intensity. The risk of doubtful receivables is offset to a large extent by BHEL's provisioning policy as well as around 81% exposure (of receivables) to counterparties that are either central or state PSUs. However, the company continued to have substantial exposure of around 25% (of receivables including contract assets) to weak state utilities such as Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) and Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited (TSGENCO) as on March 31, 2020. Nevertheless, ability to reduce receivables is a key rating sensitivity factor.

* Exposure to intense competition: BHEL operates in an increasingly competitive market scenario as several domestic companies have entered the BTG space through strategic JVs with international players, increasing the industry capacity to over 30 GW. Limited power plant capacity addition is planned over the medium term. BHEL has remained competitive because of its significant presence in the supercritical technology-based thermal power business, driven by its collaborative approach, capability enhancement and accelerated project delivery. Nonetheless, a few large orders in the past 24 months saw aggressive bidding and competition among supercritical equipment manufacturers will keep pricing and profitability range-bound.
Liquidity Strong

Liquidity is strong driven by net cash and cash equivalent of Rs 1,485 crore as on March 31, 2020, and low utilisation of fund-based bank limit, at 21% on average in the 12 months through May 2020. The company has nil term debt and the liquidity available in form of unutilised limits and surplus cash will be sufficient to service debt and meet incremental working capital requirement.

Outlook: Negative

CRISIL believes BHEL's subdued profitability and large working capital requirement will weaken its financial performance and further erode its net cash position.
 
Rating Sensitivity Factors
Upward Factors
* Sustained net cash of over Rs 3,000 crore, driven by higher accrual from operations or through reduced working capital intensity
* Improvement in the operating profitability through more-than-expected order execution and efficient raw material consumption and cost control
 
Downward Factors
* Decline in net cash below Rs 1,000 crore, driven by weaker cash accrual or high working capital intensity
* Weakening of the financial risk profile because of reduced order inflow or delay in execution of orders leading to low operating profit or operating losses.

About the Company

BHEL is an integrated power plant equipment manufacturer. The 'Maharatna' central public sector enterprise is one of the largest engineering and manufacturing companies in India. Government of India holds 63.17% of equity in BHEL.
 
BHEL has operations in the power and industry segments. The power group supplies power plant equipment such as turbo generators, boilers, turbines, and accessories, and offers erection services for all types of power plants such as gas based, coal based, hydro, nuclear, and solar. The industry group caters to diverse sectors such as process industries, transportation, power transmission and distribution, and defence. BHEL designs, engineers, manufactures, constructs, tests, commissions, and services a wide range of products. It has 16 manufacturing units, three active JVs, and presence in more than 150 project sites. It has a widespread overseas footprint with references in 83 countries.

Key Financial Indicators (CRISIL Adjusted Numbers)
As on/for the period ended March 31 Unit 2020# 2019
Operating Income Rs Crores 21,486 30,204
Profit After Tax (PAT) Rs Crores (1,473) 1,215
PAT Margin % -6.9 4.0
Adjusted debt/adjusted networth Times 0.17 0.08
Interest coverage Times 0.69 7.25
#Based on abridged financials reported

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL 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. For more details on the CRISIL complexity levels, please visit www.crisil.com/complexity-levels.
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 Cash Credit NA NA NA 6,000 NA CRISIL AA/Negative
NA Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee NA NA NA 54,000 NA CRISIL A1+
 
Annexure - List of Entities Consolidated
Names of entities consolidated Extent of consolidation Rationale for consolidation
Raichur Power Corporation Ltd Moderate Moderate
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2020 (History) 2019  2018  2017  Start of 2017
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  6000.00  CRISIL AA/Negative      21-11-19  CRISIL AA/Stable  05-11-18  CRISIL AA+/Stable  12-05-17  CRISIL AA+/Negative  CRISIL AA+/Negative 
            22-08-19  CRISIL AA+/Negative  30-08-18  CRISIL AA+/Stable  24-03-17  CRISIL AA+/Negative   
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  54000.00  CRISIL A1+      21-11-19  CRISIL A1+  05-11-18  CRISIL A1+  12-05-17  CRISIL A1+  CRISIL A1+ 
            22-08-19  CRISIL A1+  30-08-18  CRISIL A1+  24-03-17  CRISIL A1+   
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating
Cash Credit 6000 CRISIL AA/Negative Cash Credit 2778 CRISIL AA/Stable
Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 54000 CRISIL A1+ Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 52620 CRISIL A1+
-- 0 -- Proposed Cash Credit Limit 3222 CRISIL AA/Stable
-- 0 -- Proposed Letter of Credit & Bank Guarantee 1380 CRISIL A1+
Total 60000 -- Total 60000 --
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
Rating Criteria for Engineering Sector
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation
CRISILs Criteria for rating short term debt

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