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"Expert RA" rating agency confirms a level ruAAA rating for FSUE "Rosmorport"

"Expert RA" rating agency confirms a level ruAAA credit rating for FSUE "Rosmorport". The rating outlook is stable.

FSUE "Rosmorport" is a strategic backbone company established in order to carry out the effective development and operation of federal property facilities in the seaports of the Russian Federation and on the approaches to them. The company's development strategy involves the implementation of investment projects aimed at increasing cargo traffic through domestic ports, including by increasing port capacity.

The enterprise is under the jurisdiction the Federal Agency for Maritime and Inland Water Transport, which coordinates its activities from agreeing on a development strategy to the approval of an annual program of activities. The rating of the company still takes into account the strong factor of support from the state in accordance with the methodology used by the agency. The status of a natural monopoly is also positively assessed by the agency when assessing the risk profile of the industry due to the lack of competition in most areas of activity.

"Expert RA" positively assesses the industry's resilience to external shocks. The decrease in cargo turnover in the context of the introduction of restrictive measures taken at the national and international levels in order to prevent the spread of an unfavorable epidemiological situation led to a decrease in the volume of basic port charges compared to the pre-pandemic level (20 billion rubles in 2021, 19.9 billion rubles in 2020 and 22.3 billion rubles in 2019). At the same time, the development of commercial icebreaking, towing and dredging fleet services allowed the company to compensate for lost revenue and even improve financial performance: revenue growth in 2021 was about 20% compared to the previous year.

The unique role of FSUE "Rosmorport" in the transport industry of the Russian Federation determines the high assessment of the company's market positions by the "Expert RA" agency. Besides, the business profile of the enterprise is supported by the lack of dependence on key customers and counterparties due to the specifics of the activity, as well as diversification of line of services.

According to the agency, the rating is also supported by the absence of material currency risk in the company's activities. A moderate degree of depreciation of fixed assets and the presence of tariff risk have a restraining effect on the assessment of the company's market and competitive positions. The rates of harbor dues, the volume of which forms about 66% of the company's revenue, are set by the FAS. Until 2021, harbor dues were not indexed, which negatively affected the profitability of the main activities and did not allow the company to finance the investment program without attracting borrowed funds.

A noticeable increase in the share of the company's revenue from the provision of commercial services in 2021 led to an increase in the level of profitability. Thus, the EBITDA margin for 2021 was about 30%, a year earlier – 25%. This year, in the context of a decrease in the number of vessel calls to Russian ports due to sanctions restrictions and the closure of existing logistics routes, a decrease in the volume of harbor dues is expected, which, coupled with a surge in inflation, necessitates additional indexing of harbor dues rates, which currently remains not agreed by the FAS of Russia.

At the same time, "Expert RA" positively assesses the liquidity of the enterprise. The factor of qualitative assessment of the company's liquidity characterizes the long-term nature of the majority of its debt portfolio and ample opportunities for refinancing obligations.

The agency continues to evaluate the block of factors on corporate risks of the enterprise positively. A high degree of transparency has a positive impact on the rating level. "Expert RA" notes that the planned corporatization of the enterprise with the transformation of its organizational and legal form into a joint-stock company should have a positive impact on its activities, as it will provide a more understandable mechanism for operational management to investors and facilitate the attraction of financing. The bill on corporatization passed the first reading in the State Duma, its adoption is expected during the autumn session of 2022.