Monterrey.- Fitch Ratings rebajó la calificación de incumplimiento de emisor (IDR) – en moneda local y extranjera de largo plazo (LT) a ‘C’ desde ‘CC’ de Alpha Holding, S.A. de C.V. (AlphaCredit).
Los bonos no garantizados también se rebajaron a ‘C’ de ‘CC’ / ‘RR4’. Fitch también afirmó su IDR en moneda local y extranjera a corto plazo (ST) en ‘C’. Las decisiones de la calificadora siguen al anuncio de la compañía de ejercer un período de gracia y no pagar el cupón programado para este sábado 19 de junio.
Las calificaciones ‘C’ denotan que ha comenzado un proceso de incumplimiento o similar al incumplimiento, dijo Fitch.
La rebaja de la calificación de emisión a ‘C’ de ‘CC’ / ‘RR4’ mantiene la relatividad frente a la IDR y refleja las probables perspectivas de recuperación débiles para el instrumento. Fitch ya no mantiene una Calificación de Recuperación para el instrumento, lo que refleja que el resultado de recuperación potencial del instrumento es muy variable.
Así se anticipó desde aquí el incumplimiento
CONDUCTORES CLAVE DE CLASIFICACIÓN
El evento de ejercer un período de gracia de 30 días con respecto al pago de intereses en efectivo de US$15 millones sigue al anuncio de la compañía en abril de 2021 del hallazgo de errores contables relevantes en su información financiera y la posterior eliminación de los estados financieros y otra información relevante previamente disponible para los inversionistas de su sitio web, la contratación de asesores externos y la falta de publicación de los estados financieros en de acuerdo con los pactos.
La compañía conformó un comité especial compuesto exclusivamente por miembros no administrativos de su Junta de Gerentes para llevar a cabo una investigación de los errores contables, nombró a un gerente independiente de la Junta y contrató asesores legales y contables.
Continúa en conversaciones con un grupo ad hoc de tenedores de más del 50% del monto principal de los pagarés de 2022 y sus asesores legales y financieros. En opinión de Fitch, estos eventos indican que el pago de intereses antes del período de gracia de 30 días es poco probable.
Las calificaciones de deuda senior no garantizadas de Alpha Holding están alineadas con las IDR de la compañía, lo que refleja que la probabilidad de incumplimiento de los pagarés es la misma que la del emisor.
CONSIDERACIONES ESG
El puntaje de relevancia ESG de Alpha Holding para cuestiones de transparencia financiera de ‘5’ refleja que no hay información financiera disponible después del anuncio de abril de 2021 de los hallazgos de errores contables. La reformulación y la falta de claridad sobre el impacto financiero final y un plazo para la resolución del problema señalan una debilidad en la divulgación a terceros y los controles internos de la compañía que, junto con otros factores, resultaron en una rebaja de los IDR de la compañía.
El puntaje de relevancia ESG de Alpha Holding para la estructura de gobierno de ‘5’ refleja las preocupaciones de Fitch sobre las prácticas de gobierno intrínsecas de la compañía, la efectividad del consejo de supervisión con respecto a la debilidad percibida hacia la protección de los derechos de los acreedores, que son relevantes y negativos en este momento para la compañía. IDR.
Alpha Holding tiene un puntaje de relevancia ESG de ‘4’ para el bienestar del cliente: mensajería justa, privacidad y seguridad de datos debido a su exposición a riesgos operacionales y de reputación, ya que su negocio principal apunta a empleados y dependencias gubernamentales a tasas relativamente altas, lo que tiene un impacto negativo impacto en el perfil crediticio y es relevante para los IDR de la empresa junto con otros factores.
A menos que se indique lo contrario en esta sección, el nivel más alto de relevancia crediticia de ESG es una puntuación de ‘3’. Esto significa que las emisiones de ESG son neutrales desde el punto de vista crediticio o tienen un impacto crediticio mínimo en la entidad, ya sea por su naturaleza o por la forma en que la entidad las gestiona. Para obtener más información sobre las puntuaciones de relevancia de ESG de Fitch, visite www.fitchratings.com/esg
Fitch Downgrades Alpha Holding to ‘C’ on Missed Interest Payment
Fitch Ratings – Monterrey: Fitch Ratings has downgraded Alpha Holding, S.A. de C.V. (Alpha Holding) Long-Term (LT) Local- and Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘C’ from ‘CC’. The senior unsecured notes were also downgraded to ‘C’ from ‘CC’/’RR4’. Fitch has also affirmed its Short-Term (ST) Local- and Foreign-Currency IDR at ‘C’. The actions follow the company’s announcement that it will exercise a grace period and will not make the coupon payment scheduled on June 19, 2021.
Alpha Holding’s IDRs of ‘C’ ratings denote that a default or default-like process has begun.
The downgrade of the issue rating to ‘C’ from ‘CC’/’RR4’ maintains the relativity versus the IDR and reflects the likely weak recovery prospects for the instrument. Fitch no longer maintains a Recovery Rating for the instrument reflecting that the potential recovery outcome for the instrument is highly variable.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
On June 17, 2021 the company announced that it will exercise a 30-day grace period with respect to the USD15 million cash interest payment due on June 19, 2021 with respect to its 10.0% Senior Notes due in 2022.
This event follows the company’s April 2021 announcement of the finding of relevant accounting errors in its financial information and subsequent removal of financial statements and other relevant information previously available for investors from its website, the hiring of external advisors and the failure to publish financial statements in accordance to the covenants.
The company has disclosed that it has formed a special committee comprised exclusively of non-management members of its Board of Managers to conduct an investigation of the accounting errors, appointed an independent manager of the board and retained legal and accounting advisors, and that it continues in conversations with an ad hoc group of holders of over 50% of the principal amount of the 2022 notes and their legal and financial advisors. In Fitch’s view these events signal that the interest payment before the 30 days grace period is unlikely.
Alpha Holding’s senior unsecured debt ratings are aligned with the company’s IDRs, reflecting that the likelihood of default of the notes is the same as the issuer.
Fitch has maintained its ESG Relevance Score for Financial Transparency at ‘5’ due to announcement of accounting error findings and lack of provision of additional information to the market after the event. The restatement and lack of clarity on the final financial impact and a timeframe for the resolution of the issue signals weakness on the company’s third-party disclosure and internal controls. Fitch has also maintained its ESG Relevance Score for the Governance Structure factor at ‘5’ given the agency’s concerns over intrinsic governance practices as well as the effectiveness of the supervisory board with regards to protection of creditor’s rights.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action/downgrade:
–An uncured payment default on any material financial obligation would lead to a downgrade of the IDRs to ‘RD’;
–Fitch will monitor the sufficiency of information for the ongoing evaluation of the entity´s creditworthiness which could result in a rating withdrawal if the entity does not sufficiently disclose its information to the market;
–The notes’ rating will be downgraded if the issuer IDR is downgraded.
Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating action/upgrade:
–Upside potential is limited due to current uncertainties;
–In the event a debt restructuring process is initiated and sufficient disclosure of the company’s plans and financial information is provided, the IDRs would be reassessed.
BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO
International scale credit ratings of Financial Institutions and Covered Bond issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction) of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are based on historical performance. For more information about the methodology used to determine sector-specific best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10111579
REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING
The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.
ESG CONSIDERATIONS
Alpha Holding’s ESG Relevance Score for Financial Transparency Issues of ‘5’ reflects that there is no financial information available after the April 2021 announcement of accounting error findings. The restatement and lack of clarity on the final financial impact and a timeframe for the resolution of the issue signals weakness on the company’s third-party disclosure and internal controls that, in conjunction with other factors, resulted in a downgrade of the company’s IDRs.
Alpha Holding’s ESG Relevance Score for Governance Structure of ‘5’ reflects Fitch’s concerns on the company’s intrinsic governance practices, effectiveness of the supervisory board with regards to perceived weakness towards the protection of creditors rights, which are relevant and negative at this moment to the company’s IDRs.
Alpha Holding has an ESG Relevance Score of ‘4’ for Customer Welfare — Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security due to its exposure to reputational and operational risks as its main business targets government employees and dependencies at relatively high rates, which has a negative impact on the credit profile and is relevant to the company’s IDRs in conjunction with other factors.
Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of ‘3’. This means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. For more information on Fitch’s ESG Relevance Scores, visit www.fitchratings.com/esg