Corporate Credit Rating 2023 for OPTIMA ITALIA SPA: B1- (First Issuance)

modefinance published the Solicited Corporate Credit Rating of OPTIMA ITALIA SPA on the CRA website and the rating assigned to the entity is B1- (first issuance). The analysis revealed it is an adequate company with average capability of repaying financial obligations and it is little affected by adverse economic scenarios.

OPTIMA ITALIA S.P.A. is an Italian multi-utility company, active in the supply of integrated services. Founded in 1999 on the initiative of Danilo Caruso and Alesso Matrone, the Company began as a provider of B2B telephone services and, since the 2000s, it experienced a progressive lateral diversification, expanding its activity to electricity and natural gas supply. Since 2015, 20% the Company’s share capital has been held by the private equity fund Alpha, through the Luxembourg-based company Optiworld S.a.r.l.. 

The Company has a proper composition of financing sources, with limited exposure to the financial system. The existing credit lines appear to be well managed, showing no delays in payments or situations of financial tension. In addition, new resources raised through financing activities appear to be well correlated with new investments. The ratio between current assets and current liabilities is properly balanced, although, from a dynamic point of view, there was a burden on working capital at the end of 2022 due to significant growth in trade receivables (+40.49%).Nevertheless, this did not impact operations, which were able to generate a substantial cash flow, the main driver of the growth in cash and cash equivalents.
Margins appear to have contracted compared to the previous year. 

The Company’s administration and control system appears to be aligned with best practices, with the Supervisory Board ex-231/2001 having collegial form and with a proper division between the legal and tax areas. 

The comparison with the peer group shows that the Company is among the largest in terms of turnover, while solvency and profitability figures are still low. The peer group analyzed expressed a good state of health, with a gradual strengthening of the capital base and a slight growth in profitability acting as driving factors. 

From an operational point of view, as already resumed, the Company operates strong lateral diversification, managing to decrease its exposure to certain sectors in which it operates. The end of the free energy market and the macroeconomic growth, albeit modest, of the Italian economy could be growth factors for the Company. 

The present Corporate Credit rating is issued by modefinance under EU Regulation 1060/2009 and following amendments.

The present rating is solicited and is based on both private and public information. The rated entity and/or related third parties have provided all private information used. modefinance had access to some accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity and/or related third parties. Solicited and unsolicited ratings issued by modefinance are of comparable quality, as the solicitation status has no effect on methodologies used. More comprehensive information on modefinance Corporate Credit Ratings are available at http://cra.modefinance.com/en

The present Corporate Credit Rating is issued on MORE Methodology 2.0 and Rating Methodology 1.0. A comprehensive description of both methodologies, as well as information on modefinance Rating Scale and Mappings, is available at http://cra.modefinance.com/en/methodologies.

For information on historical default rates of modefinance Corporate Credit Ratings please refer to ESMA Central Repository and ESMA European Rating Platform.

modefinance refers to default as a company under bankruptcy, or under liquidation status, or under administration or for which missed payments on a financial obligation are officially recorded.

The quality of the information available on the rated entity and used to determine the present rating was judged by modefinance as satisfactory. Please note that modefinance does not perform any audit activity and is not in a position to guarantee the accuracy of any information used and/or reported in the present document. As such, modefinance can accept no liability whatsoever for actions taken based on any information that may subsequently prove to be incorrect.

The present credit rating was notified to the rated entity in order to identify potential factual errors, as prescribed by the CRA Regulation.

No amendments were applied after the notification process.

The rated entity is  a buyer of ancillary services provided by modefinance (private corporate rating). modefinance ensures that such situation does not imply a conflict of interest in the issuance of the present credit rating.

The rating action issued by modefinance was performed independently. The analysts, members of the rating team involved in the process, modefinance Srl and its members and shareholders do not have any conflicts of interest in relation to the Rated Entity and/or Related Third Parties. If in the future a potential conflict of interest is identified in relation to the persons reported above, modefinance Ratings will provide the appropriate information and if necessary the rating will be withdrawn.

The present Credit Rating is an opinion of the general creditworthiness that modefinance issues on the rated entity, and should be relied upon to a limited degree. The issued rating is subject to an ongoing monitoring until withdrawal.

Head Analyst - Christian Raimondo, Rating Analyst
christian.raimondo@modefinance.com

Responsible for Rating Approval - Pinar Dilek, Rating Process Manager
pinar.dilek@modefinance.com