The rating agency Fitch maintains a negative rating for ICE, as reported by the National Stock Exchange through a relevant event aimed at the financial market.
The Negative Outlook reflects its close link with the rating that Fitch gave to Costa Rica [B + Negative Perspective], given its strategic importance to the country and the potentially important negative socio-political and financial implications of any financial difficulty at the company level.
According to Fitch, the reason to maintain this rating is:
-Weak Corporate Governance and Financial Transparency: The Individual Credit Profile (SCP) of ICE was revised to ‘b +’ from ‘bb-‘ on an international scale due to uncertainty in the future strategic management. The above in conjunction with a poor transparency in the financial statements and a high leverage profile, ie more credits than invested capital.
-Cancellation of the Diquís Project: Diquís was a project of a 650MW hydroelectric power plant designed under the Generation Expansion Plan (PEG 2014-2018), which previously estimated the electricity demand for 2026 at 14,000GWh per year (30% increase compared to 2017); however, PEG 2018-2040 determined that the plant was no longer part of the optimal minimum cost plan.
-High Exposure to Regulatory Interference and Policy: ICE is exposed to the risk of regulatory interference given the lack of transparency and clarity in electricity tariff schemes. Each year, the company submits a tariff list of electricity to the regulator for approval.
-Diversified Asset Portfolio: The ratings reflect the reduced business risk of the company due to the diversification of operations and the positive characteristics of a public service provider.