Agusto & Co has withdrawn the “A-” credit rating assigned to Geregu Power Plc and its N40.09 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond following the company’s default on scheduled debt payments.
The rating agency announced the withdrawal on Friday, August 14, 2026, saying the decision was driven by both Geregu Power’s default and its inability to obtain sufficiently reliable information to maintain a credit opinion on the company.
The development is more significant than a conventional rating downgrade as rather than assigning Geregu a lower rating, Agusto has suspended its assessment altogether because it says it cannot currently rely on the company’s previously issued financial statements.
“Pending completion of this review, Agusto & Co is unable to rely on the current audited financial statements and, therefore, cannot provide an opinion regarding the Company’s creditworthiness,” the rating agency said.
Agusto said Geregu Power’s management had informed it that previously issued financial statements were undergoing an independent verification process. The agency said it would reassess the company’s rating after the review is completed and it receives reliable financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The immediate credit event was Geregu Power’s failure to make its eighth coupon payment and fourth scheduled principal repayment on the N40.09 billion Series 1 bond.
Earlier FMDQ Reclassification
FMDQ Securities Exchange had earlier classified the instrument as being in “credit default” following the missed payments. The bond was issued on July 28, 2022, under Geregu Power’s N100 billion multi-instrument issuance programme and carries a fixed coupon of 14.5%. It has a seven-year tenor and is scheduled to mature in July 2029.
The company’s financial performance deteriorated sharply in the first half of 2026. Revenue fell 78.71% year-on-year to N18.65 billion from N87.63 billion, while profit after tax plunged 88 percent to N2.54 billion from N20.27 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
The decline has been linked to major turbine maintenance that reduced the company’s available generation capacity. The weaker generation translated into a substantial decline in revenue and earnings, putting additional pressure on the cash flows available for debt servicing.
