(The following statement was released by the rating agency)
Sept 28 -
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Summary analysis -- CapitaCommercial Trust ------------------------ 28-Sep-2012
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CREDIT RATING: BBB+/Stable/-- Country: Singapore
Primary SIC: Real estate
investment
trusts
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Credit Rating History:
Local currency Foreign currency
20-Oct-2010 BBB+/-- BBB+/--
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Rationale
The rating on CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) reflects the REIT's good quality
asset portfolio and its solid market position in the Singapore commercial
space sector. The unencumbered nature of almost 70% of CCT's total investment
properties (valued at Singapore dollar {S$} 6.2 billion as of June 30, 2012)
supports its strong financial flexibility and underpins the rating. CCT's
limited geographic diversity, significant exposure to the cyclical office
space sector in Singapore, and "intermediate" financial risk profile--with a
target gearing (defined as the ratio of loans to total investment properties)
of 30%-45%--temper these strengths.
We expect the CCT portfolio manager's good leasing record to continue when
CapitaGreen, a Grade A office building, is complete in 2014. In our view,
CCT's dominant market position in Singapore's Grade A office space would
strengthen because CapitaGreen will add a net lettable area of 700,000 square
feet to CCT's existing portfolio of three million square feet in lettable
space. As of June 30, 2012, the lease expiry profile of CCT's portfolio and
rent reviews are well staggered between 2012 and 2016. The REIT's overall
occupancy level of 96.2% is higher than the industry average of 91.6%. This
reflects the manager's good tenant-retention strategy and strong leasing
record.
In our base-case scenario, we expect CCT's gearing to increase to about
32%-35% over the next 12-24 months, after the completion of CapitaGreen. The
gearing is 30.1% as of June 30, 2012. We expect CCT's portfolio occupancy and
lease rates to decline, given global economic uncertainties. About 40% of
CCT's tenants are in the financial services, information technology and
telecommunications, and energy sectors. We project that the company's ratio of
funds from operations (FFO) to debt will weaken to about 9%-10% and EBITDA
interest cover will be about 3.8x-4x in the next 12-24 months. These ratios
are still within our threshold for CCT to have an "intermediate" financial
risk profile, as our criteria define the term. For the 12 months ended June
30, 2012, CCT's ratio of FFO to debt was 11% and EBITDA interest cover was
4.6x.
CCT's discretionary cash flow is minimal, given its low earnings retention.
This is typical of unit trust structures. Nevertheless, we expect the REIT's
strong financial flexibility to allow it to have access to debt and equity
markets. Such access will reduce the impact of the company's minimal
discretionary cash flow position and the inherent volatility in office lease
rates in Singapore.
Liquidity
CCT's liquidity is "adequate," as defined in our criteria. As of June 30,
2012, the REIT has a cash balance of S$132.1 million. We estimate that CCT's
liquidity sources will exceed liquidity uses by about 1.2x over the next 12
months. Our liquidity assessment is based on the following assumptions:
-- CCT will have FFO of S$200 million-S$230 million in 2012.
-- The trust has S$1.7 billion in untapped balance under its S$2 billion
medium-term notes program.
-- It will distribute S$200 million-S$210 million to unitholders.
On Aug. 14, 2012, CCT announced plans to refinance S$147 million of bonds that
are due in 2013 by issuing S$175 million of convertible bonds due in 2017.
Upon completion of this transaction in September 2012, CCT will not have any
major debt maturing in the next 24 months other than the S$50 million
medium-term notes due in June 2013.
We also believe that CCT's unencumbered assets of S$4.7 billion provide the
REIT with strong financial flexibility in the unlikely event of a liquidity
crunch. We expect CCT to adhere to its articulated financial policies when
using cash and taking on additional debt to finance the rest of its commitment
in CapitaGreen.
Outlook
The stable outlook reflects our view that CCT's property portfolio is of good
quality, its operating strategies are sound, and it has strong financial
flexibility. We could lower the rating if a fall in occupancy and negative
rental reversions cause CCT's cash flow metrics to weaken on a sustained
basis, such that its adjusted EBITDA interest cover falls below 2.5x and
FFO-to-debt ratio deteriorates to less than 9%.
We could raise the rating if CCT expands its asset base in high-quality
properties and continues its conservative financial policies, such that the
FFO-to-debt ratio improves to about 15% on a sustained basis.
Related Criteria And Research
-- Criteria Methodology: Business Risk/Financial Risk Matrix Expanded,
Sept. 18, 2012
-- Key Credit Factors: Global Criteria For Rating Real Estate Companies,
June 21, 2011
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/text-p-summary-capitacommercial-trust-085004538--sector.html
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