The credit rating of Universal Leasing Company JSC (hereinafter, the Company) is based on the moderate assessment of the business profile, relatively strong assessment of the capital adequacy, high assessment of the risk profile, concentrated funding profile, and satisfactory liquidity position.

The Company is a leader of the leasing market in the Far Eastern Federal District, which accounted for 51% of the Company’s portfolio on September 30, 2023. The Company offers a wide range of leased assets, with a focus on financial lease of commercial vehicles (trucks), special vehicles and equipment for enterprises of different business scale from various segments of the economy. The Company is actively expanding its presence to other regions of Russia: in addition to the Far Eastern Federal District, significant shares of the portfolio fall on the Central and Siberian Federal Districts (23% and 13%, respectively, as of September 30, 2023). The Company’s head office is located in Khabarovsk, although the Company is registered in Moscow.

KEY ASSESSMENT FACTORS

Moderate assessment of the business profile. The Company holds a relatively stable position in the group of medium-sized leasing companies (at the beginning of 2024, the portfolio volume was about RUB 60.6 bln). Founded in 2002, the Company has been growing fast recently as its portfolio has almost quadrupled in 2020–2023. The Company is one of the largest players in the segment of construction and special vehicles, and it is striving to improve efficiency through impressive investments in the development and deployment of IT solutions.

ACRA assesses the portfolio diversification as high, noting a low proportion of leases granted to individual lessees, taking into account group affiliation (as of September 30, 2023, the share of the largest group was 4%, and the share of the ten largest groups was less than 29%). A large share of the portfolio (40%) is formed by construction and special vehicles, the second largest share is occupied by the motor transport segment (35%). The liquidity of leased assets is generally assessed as above average. ACRA also notes that the Company’s geographic diversification is growing.

In the Agency’s view the Company’s shareholding structure is transparent. The ultimate beneficiary of the Company is an individual. The quality of corporate governance and risk management is assessed as adequate. At the same time, ACRA notes a high dependence of the Company on the decisions of the managing shareholder who determines and approves the corporate strategy.

Relatively strong assessment of capital adequacy. ACRA notes the sustainable ability of the Company to generate profits: the five-year average capital generation ratio (ACGR) is about 300 bps. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for 9M 2023 is 15.4%. Taking into account dividend payments in 2023 and the continuing active growth of the business, ACRA expects this indicator to decrease to 12–13% on the horizon of 2024.

High risk profile assessment. ACRA assesses the quality of the Company’s leasing portfolio as high. The Company maintains a low share of non-performing assets: as of September 30, 2023, payments overdue for more than 90 days amounted to less than 0.5% of the leasing portfolio. ACRA’s analysis of the leasing portfolio shows that the share of potentially non-performing assets does not exceed 5% of the total amount of anticipated lease payments. ACRA notes that as of September 30, 2023, the share of the balance sheet attributable to loans granted to related companies was significant. However, this does not impair the risk profile assessment since a significant proportion of such loans were repaid in Q4 2023. The Company’s market and operational risks are assessed as insignificant.

Significant concentration of funding and liquidity. The main source of funding for the Company is bank loans (about 70% of the balance sheet as of September 30, 2023); another 16% falls on equity. The Company is persistent in expanding the circle of funding banks, but still, as of September 30, 2023, the share of the five largest banks was 67% of the Company’s liabilities, and the largest lender accounted for 33%. At the same time, ACRA notes that the share of the largest lender in the funding portfolio declined by the end of 2023.

The liquidity position is satisfactory because the current liquidity ratio forecasted for the next 12–24 months in ACRA’s base case scenario is about 1.04 (taking into account the anticipated growth of new business and the existing contracts). On the horizon of 12–24 months, no significant one-time repayments is falling due from the Company. The Agency notes the Company’s limited capability to attract emergency liquidity in case of need. At the same time, the Company has accumulated a significant reserve of liquid funds on its balance sheet, which reduces the likelihood of such need in the stress scenario.

key assumptions

  • Maintaining the current business model in the next 12–18 months.

  • CAR at no lower than 11% in the next 12–18 months.

  • The share of non-performing and potentially non-performing assets is less than 5% of the lease portfolio.

potential outlook or rating change factors

The Stable outlook assumes that the credit rating will highly likely remain unchanged within the 12 to 18-month horizon.

A positive rating action may be prompted by:

  • Much stronger positions of the Company in the Russian leasing market;

  • Much better diversification of funding sources.

A negative rating action may be prompted by:

  • Worse quality of the lease portfolio;

  • Much lower CAR and/or the Company’s capital generation capacity;

  • Significant share of non-core assets on the balance sheet.

rating components

Standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA): bbb.

Adjustments: none.

Support: no.

issue ratings

There are no outstanding issues.

regulatory disclosure

The credit rating has been assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation based on the Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Leasing Companies on the National Scale for the Russian Federation, and the Key Concepts Used by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency within the Scope of Its Rating Activities.

The credit rating has been assigned to Universal Leasing Company JSC for the first time. The credit rating and its outlook are expected to be revised within one year following the publication date of this press release.

The credit rating was assigned based on data provided by Universal Leasing Company JSC, information from publicly available sources, and ACRA’s own databases. The rating analysis was performed using the IFRS and RAS financial statements of Universal Leasing Company JSC. The credit rating is solicited, and Universal Leasing Company JSC participated in its assignment.

In assigning the credit rating, ACRA used only information, the quality and reliability of which were, in ACRA’s opinion, appropriate and sufficient to apply the methodologies.

ACRA provided no additional services to Universal Leasing Company JSC. No conflicts of interest were discovered in the course of credit rating assignment.

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