Petronas can absorb special dividend to govt

> Financial impact will be moderate in view of state oil company’s solid cash position and balance sheet: S&P

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) solid balance sheet, sizeable net cash position and ample liquidity provide ample buffer against the payment of one-off dividend to the government that could reach RM30 billion.

According to S&P Global Ratings, the financial impact of a one-off dividend of this size is moderate considering Petronas’ cash position and balance sheet quality.

“The company can finance this dividend, given cash and short-term equivalent of nearly RM180 billion as of June 30, 2018; immaterial reported debt of about RM66.3 billion as of June 30, 2018 and a net cash position of nearly RM114 billion as of June 30, 2018; and solid operating cash flows,” it said in a statement.

It added that the exceptional dividend of RM30 billion would effectively offset inflows of nearly RM30 billion the company received following the completion of the transaction with Saudi-based oil and gas producer Saudi Aramco in the first quarter of 2018.

“We project Petronas will remain in a net cash position in 2019 and, depending on the pace of capital spending disbursement, in 2020 as well. This underpins our ‘AA’ stand-alone credit profile on the company.

“We currently project operating cash flows of at least RM80 billion in 2019 amid higher hydrocarbon prices. These are sufficient to fund capital spending that we forecast at about RM55 billion and regular dividends to the government and minority interest that we estimate at about RM25 billion,” S&P said.

The rating agency said the special dividend will not affect Petronas’ solid liquidity as the group’s short-term debt maturities were minimal at about RM11.5 billion as of June 30, 2018, representing less than 10% of its cash balance.

“We estimate that Petronas’ balance sheet can absorb negative discretionary cash flows of RM40 billion for two years before the headroom under its ‘aa’ stand-alone credit profile starts to reduce. Assuming no change to the company’s investment plan, this implies additional one-off dividends of RM40 billion to RM50 billion, on top of the regular and exceptional dividends in the 2019 budget,” it said.

S&P said the special dividend validates its long-standing credit view that Petronas can be subject to periodic cash calls from the government given its solid financial position, high importance to the national budget and ownership control by the government. It added that a sustained period of higher oil prices over the next two to three years will translate into higher dividends from Petronas, and potentially, additional one-off dividends to the state.

“We cap our issuer credit rating on Petronas (foreign currency A-/Stable/--; local currency A/Stable/--) to that of the sovereign of Malaysia (A-/Stable/A-2; local currency A/Stable/A-1), despite Petronas’ stronger stand-alone credit profile, given this government intervention risk.”