Unigel is seeking a new agreement with the holders of R$500 million in debentures, whose early maturity was declared on Wednesday (6). What's behind all this?
According to information obtained by Valor , these creditors are inclined to start executing the debt, while the group, which does not have the necessary resources to fulfill the commitment, persists in trying to negotiate an extension of the deadline. Facing financial difficulties, Unigel argues that it has promising projects in its portfolio, including the construction of a green hydrogen factory in Camaçari (BA) , but lacks the necessary resources to implement them. In addition to producing nitrogen, acrylic and styrenic fertilizers, the group has also been impacted by the unfavorable scenario in the global petrochemical industry, considered the worst in almost three decades.
Source image: Anbima
We began our investigation from the initial milestone: the issuance of the debenture , surprisingly occurring less than two years ago, specifically in April 2022.
What has changed so significantly in less than 20 months since the debenture was launched?
To answer this question, I investigate the debenture launch prospects to try to find the projects that would motivate the raising of this capital.
Image: Anbima
Then, surprisingly, the first warning sign appears: the lack of specificity in the use of the capital obtained. When we lend money , we hope that the company will apply it to new projects that generate revenue, ultimately converting into results that will be shared among the workers, the shareholders who invested , the creditors who committed their capital and the government that created the conducive environment . Money does not create itself; he needs new ventures.
Image Source: Ri Unigel
The second worrying indicator: in the analysis of the income statement , currently audited by the company Deloitte , one of the main global auditing firms , we identified years of losses at Unigel , covering the years 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Image: Ri Unigel
The third warning emerged in the interest coverage ratio , a crucial measure for assessing loan quality, surprisingly forgotten by the market. At the time, this index was considerably below the guidelines established by classical literature.
As we can see, the average for the last two years indicated a coverage index of 2.4, highlighting weaknesses.
What led creditors to lend capital to Unigel?
We have to contextualize the time, going back in time to the beginning of 2021, where investors saw very positive numbers coming from the company and a growing economy supported by a fixed income interest rate at its historic minimum level, which drove investors to risk assets .
Image: Bacen
In short, in a situation like this, where family savings and workers' jobs are at stake, as Unigel 's unfortunately postponed IPO in 2021 was missed. It is clear that the capital market is not just a the game of traders, swing traders and avid speculators, but a more accessible provider of capital to the companies that support our families, governments and society.
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