Rating Rationale
June 25, 2019 | 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 debt programme and bank facilities of ABB India Limited (ABB India) at 'CRISIL AAA/Stable/CRISIL A1+'.

Consequent to redemption, CRISIL has also withdrawn its rating on non-convertible debentures of Rs 600 crore (See Annexure 'Details of rating withdrawn' for details) in line with its withdrawal policy. CRISIL has received independent confirmation that these instruments are fully redeemed.

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.
Liquidity

ABB India has ample liquidity driven by expected cash accruals of more than Rs 500 crore per annum in CY19 and cash and cash equivalents of Rs 1600 crore as on March 31, 2019. ABB India also has access to fund based limits of Rs 1500 crore with minimal utilization. The company is long term debt free with capex of around Rs 150-200 crore per annum. CRISIL believes the company has sufficient accruals and cash and cash equivalents to meet its capex requirements. Its unutilized bank lines are more than adequate to meet its incremental working capital needs over the next one year. 

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, Faridabad (Haryana), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Mumbai, Mysore (Karnataka), Nashik (Maharashtra), Savli (Gujarat), and Vadodara (Gujarat). The company has five divisions: Power grids (PG), Electrification (EL), Robotics and Discrete Automation (RA), -Motion (MO) and Industrial Automation (IA). The power business, which includes PG and EL divisions provides turnkey solutions for integrated power systems, high- and medium-voltage sub-stations, power-line carrier communication equipment, relay-controlled panels, and networking management and services. The automation business, which includes RA, MO and IA divisions provides 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 subsidiary ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, Zurich.

For the 3 months ended March 2019, the company reported a PAT of Rs 116 crore on operating income of Rs 2745 crore, as against a PAT of Rs 102 crore on operating income of Rs 2525 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.

Key Financial Indicators
As on/for the period ended Dec 31 2018 2017
Revenue Rs Crore 10,862 9087
Profit after tax Rs Crore 511 419
PAT Margins % 4.7 4.6
Adjusted Debt/Adjusted Net worth Times 0.00 0.17
Interest Coverage Times 13.34 11.08

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
NA Commercial Paper NA NA 7-365 days 100 CRISIL A1+
NA Fund-Based Facilities NA NA NA 550 CRISIL AAA/Stable
NA Non-Fund Based Limit NA NA NA 6530 CRISIL A1+
NA Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits NA NA NA 950 CRISIL AAA/Stable
NA Proposed Non Fund
based limits
NA NA NA 470 CRISIL A1+
 
Annexure - Details of Rating Withdrawn
ISIN Name of Instrument Date of Allotment Coupon
Rate (%)
Maturity Date Issue Size
(Rs Cr)
INE117A08019 Non-Convertible Debentures 4-Sep-2015 Daily Compounding
MIBOR + 80 bps
4-Sep-2018 600
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2019 (History) 2018  2017  2016  Start of 2016
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Commercial Paper  ST  100.00  CRISIL A1+      26-12-18  CRISIL A1+  28-09-17  CRISIL A1+  23-03-16  CRISIL A1+  CRISIL A1+ 
            19-03-18  CRISIL A1+  30-08-17  CRISIL A1+       
                31-03-17  CRISIL A1+       
Non Convertible Debentures  LT  0.00
21-06-19 
CRISIL AAA/Stable      26-12-18  CRISIL AAA/Stable  28-09-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable  23-03-16  CRISIL AAA/Stable  CRISIL AAA/Stable 
            19-03-18  CRISIL AAA/Stable  30-08-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable       
                31-03-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable       
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  1500.00  CRISIL AAA/Stable      26-12-18  CRISIL AAA/Stable  28-09-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable  23-03-16  CRISIL AAA/Stable  CRISIL AAA/Stable 
            19-03-18  CRISIL AAA/Stable  30-08-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable       
                31-03-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable       
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  7000.00  CRISIL A1+      26-12-18  CRISIL A1+  28-09-17  CRISIL A1+  23-03-16  CRISIL A1+  CRISIL A1+ 
            19-03-18  CRISIL A1+  30-08-17  CRISIL A1+       
                31-03-17  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
Fund-Based Facilities 550 CRISIL AAA/Stable Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee 6400 CRISIL A1+
Non-Fund Based Limit 6530 CRISIL A1+ Overdraft# 1000 CRISIL AAA/Stable
Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits 950 CRISIL AAA/Stable Proposed Fund-Based Bank Limits^ 500 CRISIL AAA/Stable
Proposed Non Fund based limits 470 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 rating short term debt
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Parent Support

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