Rating Rationale
October 28, 2020 | Mumbai
Siemens Limited
Rating Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.5286 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL AAA/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL AAA/Stable' rating on the bank facilities of Siemens Limited (Siemens).
 
During fiscal 2019 (period ended September 2019), Siemens registered healthy operating performance with year-on-year growth of around 8% in operating income to Rs 13,633 crore, and improvement in operating margin to 10.5% from 9.6% in fiscal 2018, led by healthy performance across business segments. However, operating performance was impacted during the third quarter of fiscal 2020, on account of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant disruption in operations. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped to Rs 561 crore (margin of 8.2%) for the nine months ended June 30, 2020, from Rs 1,070 crore (11.2%) for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
 
Despite pandemic-led economic disruptions, Siemens' business risk profile should remain strong, driven by established presence in diverse businesses and healthy order book of Rs 13,142 crore as on June 30, 2020. Moreover, liquidity was strong with cash and cash equivalents of over Rs 4,450 crore as on March 31, 2020 and the company continues to be debt-free.
 
The rating continues to reflect Siemens' diversified business portfolio, strong market position, technical and managerial support from the parent, Siemens AG (rated 'A+/Stable/A-1+' by Standard & Poor's), and strong financial risk profile. These rating strengths are partially offset by susceptibility of operating margin to project implementation risks, largely on account of exposure to structural issues in power sector and intense competition in the capital goods industry.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Strong market position and diversified business portfolio:  Siemens caters to multiple business areas, mitigating risks associated with cyclicality in individual businesses. The company's business has been classified into Gas and Power, Smart Infrastructure, Mobility, Digital Industries, and Portfolio of Companies. The business portfolio highly mirrors that of Siemens AG. The company's strong market position is supported by access to the latest technology and brand equity of its parent, diverse product portfolio, wide geographical reach and established track record of timely execution of projects.
 
Furthermore, the proposed acquisition of C&S Electric Ltd (C&S, 'rated CRISIL A-/CRISIL A1/Watch Positive') should help the company expand its presence in the low-voltage power distribution and electrical installation segment in India. The acquisition was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on August 20, 2020, and the transaction is expected to be completed over the next six months.
 
Established market position with diversified business portfolio and sizeable orders should help maintain healthy operating performance over the medium term.
 
* Technical and managerial support from the parent, Siemens AG, Germany:  Siemens benefits from the technical and managerial support it receives from Siemens AG. Support from the parent enables Siemens to make high-quality products and improve service capabilities, thereby maintaining its strong market position.
 
* Strong financial risk profile:  Siemens has strong financial risk profile, as indicated by healthy networth and zero debt as on September 30, 2020. Liquidity is backed by strong cash and cash equivalents (over Rs 4,450 crore as of March 2020). The financial risk profile should remain strong over the medium term, driven by healthy cash accrual and strong liquidity.
 
Weaknesses
* Susceptibility to project implementation risks, largely on account of exposure to structural issues in the power sector: The company's profitability is susceptible to structural issues and volatility in the power sector. A weak demand environment and investment climate may lead to slump in orders in the sector, wherein private power developers could shelve their expansion plans. Any large scale project deferrals also lead to cost overruns for players in the industry, which would impact their profitability, given that they have limited flexibility to pass on cost overruns.
 
* Exposure to intense competition: Siemens operates in an increasingly competitive market scenario, on account of the presence of many domestic and 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. CRISIL believes that though competition will remain intense in the segment over the medium term, Siemens will bid prudently for such projects. 
Liquidity Strong

Liquidity is strong, driven by cash and cash equivalents of over Rs 4,450 crore as on March 31, 2020 and expected annual cash accrual of Rs 500-750 crore in fiscals 2020 and 2021. The company is debt-free and shall have regular maintenance capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 150-250 crore per annum, to be financed through internal accrual.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes Siemens will maintain its strong market position over the medium term, backed by its technological superiority. The company will also maintain its strong financial risk profile, given its conservative financial policy and robust capital structure.
 
Rating sensitivity factors
Downward factors:
* A slump in order inflow on account of a prolonged slowdown in key operating segments
* In case operating margin falls below 5% on a sustained basis

About the Company

Incorporated in 1957, Siemens is engaged in the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalisation in the process and manufacturing industries. It is also a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport and infrastructure solutions for Smart Cities. Siemens' business has been classified into Gas and Power, Smart Infrastructure, Mobility, Digital Industries and Portfolio of Companies.
 
Siemens Ltd, is the flagship company of Siemens AG in India. On May 07, 2019, Siemens AG had announced its plans to spin off its gas and power division globally, which would involve transfer of several businesses, including oil and gas, conventional power generation, power transmission and related services to a separately managed company.
 
In India, the gas and power division of Siemens continues to be part of Siemens Ltd. In May 2020, Siemens AG transferred 24% stake to Siemens Gas and Power Holding BV, which is the global holding company for the energy business of the group.
 
For the nine months ended June 30, 2020, operating income and reported profit after tax (PAT) was Rs 6,808 crore and Rs 430 crore, respectively, against Rs 9,555 crore and Rs 756 crore, respectively, for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Key Financial Indicators (Standalone ' CRISIL-adjusted numbers):
As on / for the period ended September 30   2019 2018
Operating income Rs crore 13,633 12,648
Profit after tax (PAT) Rs crore 1,087 894
PAT margin % 8.0 7.1
Adjusted debt/adjusted networth Times 0.0 0.0
Adjusted interest coverage Times 48.92 44.37

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 Levels Rating assigned with outlook
NA Cash credit/ overdraft facility NA NA NA 127 NA CRISIL AAA/Stable
NA Letter of credit and bank guarantee* NA NA NA 5,159 NA CRISIL AAA/Stable
*The BG facility is interchangeable with Letter of credit
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  127.00  CRISIL AAA/Stable  29-01-20  CRISIL AAA/Stable  29-07-19  CRISIL AAA/Stable  20-04-18  CRISIL AAA/Stable  30-06-17  CRISIL AAA/Stable  CRISIL AAA/Stable 
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  5159.00  CRISIL AAA/Stable  29-01-20  CRISIL AAA/Stable  29-07-19  CRISIL AAA/Stable  20-04-18  CRISIL AAA/Stable  30-06-17  CRISIL A1+  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/ Overdraft facility 127 CRISIL AAA/Stable Cash Credit/ Overdraft facility 126 CRISIL AAA/Stable
Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee* 5159 CRISIL AAA/Stable Letter of credit & Bank Guarantee* 5160 CRISIL AAA/Stable
Total 5286 -- Total 5286 --
*The BG facility is interchangeable with Letter of credit
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 rating short term debt
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Parent Support
Mapping global scale ratings onto CRISIL scale

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