Obbligazioni societarie HIGH YIELD e oltre, verso frontiere inesplorate - Vol. 1 (14 lettori)

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Rating Action: Moody's changes Chesapeake Energy outlook to stable
Global Credit Research - 04 Jun 2013
Approximately $12 billion of rated debt affected
New York, June 04, 2013 -- Moody's Investors Service changed Chesapeake Energy Corporation's (Chesapeake) rating outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the company's Ba2 Corporate Family Rating (CFR) and Ba3 senior unsecured debt ratings. The company's Speculative Grade Liquidity was also affirmed at SGL-3.

"The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that Chesapeake will be able to improve its leverage metrics this year and in 2014 through a combination of reserve and production growth and debt reduction," commented Pete Speer, Moody's Vice President. "The company has made significant progress in reducing its capital spending, hedging its natural gas exposure and increasing its available liquidity."

Issuer: Chesapeake Energy Corporation

..Outlook Actions:

....Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

..Affirmations:

....Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed Ba2

....Probability of Default Rating, Affirmed Ba2-PD

....Senior Unsecured Term Loan, Affirmed Ba3

....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Affirmed Ba3

....Senior Unsecured Conv./Exch. Bond/Debenture, Affirmed Ba3

....Senior Unsecured Shelf, Affirmed (P)Ba3

....Speculative Grade Liquidity, SGL-3

RATINGS RATIONALE

Chesapeake's Ba2 CFR incorporates the benefits of its very large proved reserve and production scale, sizable high quality acreage positions in multiple basins across the US, low operating costs and competitive drillbit finding and development (F&D) costs. These credit strengths are offset by the company's high adjusted debt and structural complexity resulting from a long history of rapid growth through acreage acquisitions and capital spending greatly in excess of cash flows. While Chesapeake still relies on asset sales to fund its capital spending in excess of operating cash flow, this funding gap has been reduced significantly in 2013 and 2014. The company appears to have sufficient financial flexibility to continue growing its oil production while completing enough asset sales over time to reduce debt and financial leverage.

The company's corporate governance improvements and senior management changes have yielded greater capital and financial discipline in 2013. Chesapeake appears committed to harvesting oil and, to a lesser extent, natural gas liquids production growth from its existing asset base while divesting of non-core assets to fill its funding gap and ultimately reduce debt. However, the asset sales have tended to take longer to close than initially expected. Consequently, Chesapeake's debt levels increased during the first quarter of 2013 causing its leverage on proved developed (PD) reserves (Debt/PD) to rise to nearly $14/boe and its cash flow coverage of debt (retained cash flow (RCF)/Debt) to remain weak at 16%.

Chesapeake's cash flow in 2013 will be much stronger than last year because of its increased oil production volumes and higher natural gas prices. The company has significantly hedged its oil and natural gas production to lock in the higher cash flow. Moody's expects Chesapeake's Debt/PD to decline towards $12/boe over the remainder of 2013 through a combination of reserves growth and debt reduction through asset sales. The company's RCF/Debt should near 20% for 2013 and both leverage metrics should continue to improve in 2014, supporting the stable outlook.

Moody's expects Chesapeake to maintain adequate liquidity into 2014, consistent with its SGL-3 rating. The company had $3.1 billion of available borrowing capacity on its corporate revolver at March 31, 2013 and approximately $1.4 billion of asset sales under contract at May 8, 2013. The proceeds from contracted asset sales and revolver availability should be sufficient to fund anticipated capital expenditures in excess of operating cash flows into 2014. The company's hedged cash flows should result in good headroom for compliance with revolver covenants through the first quarter of 2014. Chesapeake will need to complete further asset sales to achieve any debt reduction and maintain ample revolver availability as the year progresses.

If Chesapeake is not able to reduce its adjusted debt and corresponding leverage metrics as expected then its ratings could be downgraded. Debt/PD reserves above $12/boe, RCF/Debt below 20% or Debt/Average Daily Production above $35,000/boe on a sustained basis could result in a ratings downgrade. A ratings upgrade appears unlikely in 2013. In order for the ratings to be upgraded to Ba1, Chesapeake's leverage metrics have to improve much more than expected and its liquidity will have to strengthen further and be much less reliant on asset sales. Debt/PD, Retained Cash Flow (RCF)/Debt and Debt/Average Daily Production approaching $9/boe, 35% and $25,000/boe on a sustainable basis could result in a ratings upgrade to Ba1.

The Ba3 ratings on the company's senior unsecured notes and term loan reflects both the overall probability of default of Chesapeake, to which Moody's assigns a PDR of Ba2-PD, and a loss given default of LGD 4 (62%, changed from 69%). Chesapeake has a $4 billion senior secured revolving credit facility. The size of the potential priority claim to the assets relative to the senior unsecured debt outstanding results in the unsecured debt being rated one notch beneath the Ba2 CFR under Moody's Loss Given Default Methodology.

The principal methodology used in this rating was the Global Independent Exploration and Production Industry published in December 2011. Other methodologies used include Loss Given Default for Speculative-Grade Non-Financial Companies in the U.S., Canada and EMEA published in June 2009. Please see the Credit Policy page on Moody's - credit ratings, research, tools and analysis for the global capital markets for a copy of these methodologies.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is an independent exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
 
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