Expert RA Kazakhstan affirms Central Asian fuel and energy company 'A' and bond reliability rating 'A'

/IRBIS, December 26, 2011/ - The rating agency "Expert RA Kazakhstan" JSC has confirmed "CAFEC" (Central Asian Fuel and Energy Company) credit rating at A (high creditworthiness) and the first bond issue rating (NIN - KZ2C0Y10D307) at A (high reliability). As the "Expert RA Kazakhstan" states, factors that positively influenced the rating include significant growth in assets (end of 2008 to 2nd quarter 2011 assets grew by 67.4%) and growth equity capital (from late 2008 to 2nd quarter 2011 year, an increase of 69.4%). In addition, factors that positively influenced the rating CAFEC were classified as high liquidity (acid-test ratio at June 30, 2011 amounted to 2, the coefficient of absolute liquidity - 0.3), as well as business activity (up to 2010 the turnover of accounts payable was 35 days, accounts receivable - 60 days). The agency notes the low percentage of accounts receivable (June 30, 2011 - 5.1% of total liabilities) and the absence of overdue accounts, strong market position of the Company (23rd place in the ranking of Expert-100 up to 2010), increasing the production and updating fixed assets, as well as a high level of transparency and corporate governance, which has a positive impact on the rating. Central Asian Fuel and Energy Company JCS systematically improves its financial condition and strengthens market positions. Over the past year the Company conducted a successful merger of two pension funds and has introduced a new player - APF "Astana". Expert RA Kazakhstan has upgraded ratings of two major subsidiaries of the Company (JSC "PAVLODARENERGO", JSC "SevKazEnergo"). All this had positive effect on the ranking of CAFEC", - says an expert in the corporate sector of rating agency Expert RA Kazakhstan Anna Akopyants. The main factors limiting the rating of JSC "CAFEC" are became a high level of leverage (the ratio of debt at the end of Q2 2011 for gross profit for 2010 amounts to 3.06), a significant increase in receivables and a sufficiently high proportion of outstanding debt (in the period from 2008 to 2nd quarter 2011 accounts receivable increased by 120.5%, the share of overdue debt on June 30, 2011 at 5%). The main activity of CAFEC is the management of subsidiaries in heat energy and financial sectors. The Company's revenues for 2010 amounted to 64.5 billion tenge, net profit - 1.4 billion tenge, assets - 182 bn. [2011-12-26]