Corporate Credit Rating 2024 for UTILITÀ SPA: B1- (Affirm)

modefinance published the Solicited Corporate Credit Rating of UTILITÀ SPA on the website and the rating assigned to the entity is B1- (Affirm). The analysis revealed that the Company has an adequate economic and financial situation and can face adverse economic conditions in the medium and long term.

UTILITA’ S.P.A., a key company of Metano Nord Holding Group, was founded in 2000 to offer consulting services, mainly dedicated to SMEs, for the optimization of energy costs. After a steady growth, nowadays the Company is a prominent trader in the Italian energy market that deals with the purchase and supply of electricity and natural gas to large companies, small-medium enterprises, professionals and other traders of the sector.

At the end of the FY2023, the Company’s economic and financial situation is affected by the contraction in the volumes supplied and by the lower operating margin, which contributed to a negative operating result and led to a physiological deterioration in the company’s profitability. The operating loss recorded by the Company in FY2023, which was mainly attributable to unfavorable market conditions, was however covered by the parent company Metano Nord Holding S.r.l., which confirms adequate solvency level as Group. T
he Company has benefited from a reduction in its liabilities and from the progressive downsizing of its financial exposure, strengthening its solvency. 

The cash flow analysis shows that operational management, well supported by self-financing and improved cash flow management, has generated sufficient cash flow to support the repayment of maturing financial debts. 

The management of credit lines appears correct, with punctual payments of loans and long-term debts, and the utilization of self-liquidating risks appears well-managed. 

The Company has an administrative body in collegial form flanked by the Board of Statutory Auditors. The auditing activity is entrusted to KPMG S.P.A. The Company has also adopted the 231 Organizational Model, with Supervisory Board performing periodical audits. The group structure is well defined; the Company is controlled by Metano Nord - Spa and does not hold any shareholdings. 

The Company presents a satisfactory positioning in terms of size and solvency, while profitability ranks below the industry median. The peer group, which exhibits a sound profitability, demonstrates an overall satisfactory and improving state of health. 

The energy sector in Italy is of considerable strategic importance and has recently gone through a period of profound changes due to geopolitical tensions. The strategy of diversification of supply sources has contributed to a progressive reduction in prices of energy commodities, also supported by the growing contribution of renewable sources to the energy production mix. At the macroeconomic level, growth prospects for Italy in the medium term remain limited and conditioned by the ongoing slowdown in the United States and globally. 

In the following table, the addressing factors, actions or events that could lead to an upgrade or a downgrade are summarized: 

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.

Metano Nord Holding S.r.l., the company that holds indirect control of the rated entity, has purchased ancillary services provided by modefinance (preliminary 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 - Stefano Chirsich Rating Analyst
stefano.chirsich@modefinance.com

Responsible for Rating Approval - Giulia Chiarparin, Compliance&Risk Function
giulia.chiarparin@modefinance.com