Press Release

VIS Reaffirms Entity Ratings of Lucky Renewables (Pvt) Limited (Formerly: Tricom Wind Power (Pvt) Limited)

Karachi, December 20, 2023: VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) has reaffirmed the entity ratings of Lucky Renewables (Pvt) Limited (Formerly: Tricom Wind Power (Pvt) Limited) (LRPL) at ‘A/A-2’ (Single A/A-Two). The medium to long term rating of ‘A’ indicates good credit quality and adequate protection factors. Risk may vary with possible changes in the economy. Short term rating of 'A-2' indicates good certainty of timely payment. Liquidity factors and company fundamentals are sound. Access to capital markets is good. Risk factors are small. Outlook on the assigned rating is ‘Stable’. Previous rating action was announced on December 29, 2022.

Incorporated in 2017, LRPL has setup a 50MW wind power plant in Jhimpir, District Thatta, Sindh. The ratings assigned to LRPL incorporate association with ‘Yunus Brother Group’, a reputable conglomerate with strong financial profile and presence in diversified sectors including cement, power generation, building materials, real estate, textile, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and automotive sectors. The assigned ratings take into account low business risk profile of the company underpinned by inking of 25-year long Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA) with the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited (CPPA-G). Presence of long-term EPA mitigates off-take risk as obligations of CPPA-G are backed by a Government of Pakistan (GoP) guarantee. Operational risk is considered manageable given long-term O&M contract in place with experienced O&M operator. The company is susceptible to wind risk; however, extensive wind study reflects very low potential risk to the operations. The plant must run under no merit listings due to wind power being a renewable resource.

Delay in true-up tariff curtailed profitability while the company forwent interim relief from the GoP during FY23. The company has filed for true-up petition with the GoP and expects it to be finalized by end-Dec’23. Given the country’s intercorporate debt issue, trade debts to sales ratio remained on a higher side. Given intermittent payments from the CPPA-G and lower profitability, liquidity risk remained elevated. While debt coverages remained stressed, the company has been able to retire its financial obligations in a timely manner. The sponsor support is also evident from related party loans. Leverage indicators remained elevated. The ratings remain sensitive to finalization of true-up tariff and subsequent improvement in financial indicators.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Mr. Maimoon Rasheed at 042-35723411-12 (8008) or the undersigned (Ext. 207) at 021-35311861-64 or email at info@vis.com.pk.





Javed Callea
Advisor

Applicable Rating Criteria: Industrial Corporates (May 2023)
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/CorporateMethodology.pdf

VIS Issue/Issuer Rating Scale
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/VISRatingScales.pdf

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