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| Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation - News & Analysis from ATM Monthly |
Auckland Airport Ratings unaffected by purchase of stake in North Queensland Airports12-Jan-2010 |
Tags :South Pacific Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ‘A-/A-2’ ratings and stable outlook on Auckland International Airport Ltd. (AIAL) are unaffected by AIAL's announcement that it has purchased a 24.55% stake in North Queensland Airports. We note that the agreement is subject to North Queensland Airports receiving financier consents before settlement. Although we expect the A$132.8 million purchase to further diversify AIAL's revenue base, we note that the majority of AIAL's revenue will remain linked to passenger numbers at Auckland Airport. The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that AIAL will maintain adequate liquidity following purchase. Furthermore, we expect AIAL’s forecast financial metrics will remain consistent with our expectations for the ‘A-’ long-term rating. AIAL has advised that its funding strategy—subsequent to the initial finance of the North Queensland Airports purchase from existing debt facilities—is likely to involve a mix of debt and equity, consistent with AIAL’s current capital structure. However, in our view this acquisition may reduce AIAL’s capacity to undertake further sizeable "step out" opportunities at the current 'A-' rating in the short term.
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 12-Jan-10
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