Press Release

VIS Reaffirms Entity Ratings of Artistic Wind Power (Pvt.) Limited

Lahore, May 14, 2024: VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) has reaffirmed entity ratings assigned to Artistic Wind Power (Pvt.) Limited (‘AWPPL’ or ‘the Company’) at ‘A/A-2’ (Single A/A-Two). The medium to long-term rating of ‘A’ indicates good credit quality; protection factors are adequate. Risk factors may vary with possible changes in the economy. The short-term rating of ‘A-2’ denotes 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 April 18, 2023.

AWPPL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Artistic Milliners (Pvt.) Limited. The assigned ratings incorporate the sound financial profile of the sponsor. The business risk profile is also supported by the long-term O&M contract in place with experienced contractors coupled with the long-term Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA) with the CPPA, partially mitigating offtake risk. Although power produced and, in turn, cash flows are susceptible to seasonality and possible variance in wind speed, comfort is drawn from surveys conducted by international consultants confirming adequate wind availability historically. The Company’s tariff petition for reflection of true-up costs in tariff is under review by NEPRA; approval of the same over the rating horizon will be an important rating consideration.

The Company’s operational performance during FY23 was hampered owing to government-led curtailments on account of availability of cheaper power sources amid excess power generation in the winter season coupled with relatively lower wind resource during the high-generation summer months; however, improvement in offtake was exhibited during the ongoing year. Resultantly, profitability margins were impacted by variance in operational performance but remained sound; the same are also expected to improve following approval of true-up petition. The overall liquidity profile was satisfactory with adequate cash flow coverages and clearance of receivables by CPPA largely on time over the rating review period. Moreover, capitalization indicators depicted improvement on the back of profit retention but remained elevated; nonetheless, the same are expected to improve with internal capital generation and debt repayments. Going forward, the ratings will remain sensitive to maintenance of profitability performance and liquidity metrics as well as improvement of capitalization levels.

For further information on this ratings announcement, please contact at 042-35723411-13 or email at info@vis.com.pk.




Applicable Rating Criteria: Industrial Corporates
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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