Petroperú informs about recent announcement of Fitch Ratings

This Petroperu release was published using machine translation.

In relation to the recent announcement by the risk rating agency Fitch Ratings, regarding the long-term credit situation of Petroperú (in national and foreign currency) and the individual credit profile, we report the following:

1. The downgrading of the credit rating to BB+ from BBB- and the review of the individual credit profile (SCP) to ccc- from ccc of the aforementioned Risk Rating Agency, is based on their assessments in relation to the company's liquidity weakness, its high level of leverage, insufficient support from the Peruvian Government and permanent uncertainty regarding the recovery of credit lines.
2. In this regard, as Petroperú has been reporting, the complex situation related to the company's liquidity is the result of the decisions made by the previous administration, among which are:
   • Impossibility of providing 2021 audited financial information before 05.30.2022 to the financial market, due to the discrepancies that it caused with the auditing firm, which did not allow the signing of the contract in a timely manner and generated restrictions in the usual credit lines of the bank National and international.
   • Temporary mismatch between income and short-term obligations of the Company, due to changes made in the supplier payment policy.

3. Additionally, the increase in obligations to suppliers of crude oil and products due to the sustained increase in international prices, as well as the increase in the cost of international transportation; both generated by the Russia-Ukraine war, further complicated the company's situation.

4. Likewise, it is necessary to mention that the high level of leverage is due to the requirements for the execution of the Talara Refinery Modernization Project, whose investment amount is 5,290 million dollars without pre-operational interest, as well as obtaining financial support for 750 million dollars and cancellation documents for up to 500 million soles in order to ensure the commercialization of hydrocarbons nationwide.
   
   It should be noted that the financial support was necessary to meet short-term obligations with suppliers of crude oil and products; as well as the payment of customs duties and associated taxes due to the closing of lines of credit due to the delay in the presentation of the audited Financial Statements 2021 and the abrupt change in the payment policy, all these situations generated by decisions of the previous Administration, such as It is mentioned in point 2.
5. Regarding the support of the Government, this has been made explicit through DU No. 010-2022 and the proposal to extend its validity incorporated in the Public Sector Indebtedness Bill for the year 2023. Likewise, Petroperú maintains the support of the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Ministry of Economy and Finance, considering their strategic role for energy security in Peru.
6. In relation to credit lines, although it is true that a percentage of them are under evaluation until the issuance of the 2021 Audited Financial Statements, there is an improvement in the levels of lines available to the Company (1,631 million dollars as of 08.12.2022 vs. 1,296 million dollars as of 03.31.2022)
7. The situation described by the risk rating agency may be reversed with the actions that the Board of Directors and the current Administration have been carrying out since their appointment in April of this year, among which the following stand out:
   • In May 2022, the consent of the bondholders, Syndicated Banks and CESCE was obtained to present the 2021 Audited Financial Statements on 09.30.2022.
   • The Administration ensured the performance of the 2021 external audit with the signing of the contract with the auditing company PwC on 05.03.2022. The presentation date of the Audited Financial Statements is scheduled for next September 9th.
   • The rating agency Standard & Poor's has reversed its negative outlook to stable.
   • The gradual and progressive start-up of the Talara Refinery has been underway since April 2022, a process in which Petroperú is receiving the main process units from the Técnicas Reunidas contractor, such as the Primary Distillation Unit. It is estimated that the new Talara refinery will begin commercial operations in the last quarter of this year.
   • The implementation of actions to strengthen the Governance of Petroperú regarding the corporate governance structure, information transparency, ethics and anti-corruption system, risk management, compliance and internal control. In this sense, Senior Management has proposed a new regulatory framework for the meritocratic election of the Board of Directors.

The Management and Administration of Petroperú has been carrying out actions to ensure the sustainability of the company that will allow it to recover the confidence of the financial market and its other interest groups, leading to a significant improvement in its liquidity to fulfill its strategic role of supplying the national territory with quality fuels.

For more information, you can review the report at the following link:

Fitch Downgrades Petroperu to 'BB+'; Maintains Rating Watch Negative RATING ACTION COMMENTARY fitchratings.com