來寶集團CEO質疑穆迪降級決定

The chief executive of Noble Group has questioned Moody’s decision to downgrade the commodity trader’s credit rating to junk status, saying weak raw material prices would not affect its profitability.

來寶集團(Noble Group)首席執行官質疑穆迪(Moody’s)調降這家大宗商品交易商的信用評級至垃圾級的決定，稱原材料價格疲弱不會影響其盈利能力。

In a combative letter to staff, seen by the Financial Times, Yusuf Alireza said the “unexpected” downgrade had also overlooked the “positive ratings impact” from a recent agreement to sell its remaining stake in an agricultural trading joint venture for $750m.

在一封發給員工的義憤填膺的信中（英國《金融時報》看到了這封信），優素福阿里雷扎(Yusuf Alireza，上圖)表示，這一“出乎意料的”降級忽略了最近一項協議的“積極評級影響”，他指的是出售來寶在一家農業交易合資公司所持剩餘股份、回籠7.5億美元的交易。

Moody’s downgrade is the latest blow to Noble. Its shares plunged this year amid questions about the company’s accounting and a collapse in commodity prices, even as Noble’s energy trading business outperformed.

穆迪的降級是來寶受到的最新打擊。其股價今年以來暴跌，其背景是有人對該公司的會計操作提出質疑，以及大宗商品價格崩盤，即便來寶的能源交易業務表現好於平均水平。

Noble’s leverage, poor profitability and negative cash flow were among the reasons cited by Moody’s for its downgrade announced after the market close on Tuesday.

來寶的槓桿率、糟糕盈利能力以及負現金流，是穆迪在週二市場收盤後宣佈將其降級時援引的其中幾個理由。

Noble’s Singapore-listed shares fell 9.1 per cent to close at S$0.40 on Wednesday.

來寶在新加坡上市的股票週三下跌9.1%，收於0.40新加坡元。

“It seems that Moody’s credit committee were not able to differentiate between an environment that is clearly challenging for upstream players and one that opens up opportunities for an asset light trader like ourselves,” said Mr Alireza, a former Goldman Sachs banker, in his letter to Noble staff.

“看來，穆迪的信用委員會不能在一個顯然對上游企業具有挑戰性的環境和一個爲我們這樣的輕資產交易商開啓機遇的環境之間作出區分，”曾經是高盛(Goldman Sachs)銀行家的阿里雷紮在寫給員工的信中表示。

Oil majors and mining groups have been hit hard by the drop in commodity prices, but some commodity traders are enjoying favourable operating conditions.

大型石油公司和礦業集團已受到大宗商品價格下滑的沉重打擊，但一些大宗商品交易商正在得益於有利的經營條件。

Like many of its rivals, Hong-Kong based Noble has delivered strong results in oil trading this year because of a global supply glut that created opportunities to make money from storing and transporting crude.

像許多競爭對手一樣，總部位於香港的來寶今年在石油交易業務領域業績表現強勁，因爲全球供應過剩帶來了從儲存和運輸原油中賺錢的機遇。

Other parts of Noble’s business have struggled however. The company’s net profit fell 84 per cent to $24.7m in the three months to September 30, compared with one year earlier. At that time Noble’s adjusted net debt stood at $4.2bn, or 3.6 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amoritisation, according to Moody’s.

然而，來寶的其他業務部門陷入經營困難。該公司在截至9月30日的三個月期間淨利潤同比下降84%，至2470萬美元。根據穆迪的數據，9月底來寶集團經調整後的淨債務爲42億美元，是其息稅折舊及攤銷前利潤(EBITDA)的3.6倍。

Noble has almost $3bn of short-term debt it must repay or refinance over the next 12 months.

來寶在未來12個月有近30億美元的短期債務必須償還或再融資。

Noble’s agreement this month to sell its remaining stake in an agricultural trading business to China’s Cofco was designed, in part, to raise funds and avert a downgrade.

來寶在12月達成協議，將其在一家農業交易企業的剩餘股份出售給中國的中糧集團(Cofco)。這筆交易在一定程度上就是爲了募集資金，避免降級。