S&P cuts Port of Newcastle to junk

S&P said it downgraded Port of Newcastle Investments (Financing) Pty Ltd. (PON) and its senior secured notes to BB+ from BBB-.

“The downgrade reflects PON's high debt levels relative to our earnings projections for the next few years. We now see a very low probability of previously planned equity support to reduce debt at the company due to divergent views of the two shareholders. In our view, China Merchants Ports Holdings (CMPH) is likely to provide equity support only on a project-to-project basis rather than debt reduction. The other 50% shareholder, The Infrastructure Fund (TIF), is more flexible to support PON,” S&P said in a press release.

The agency said it expects PON’s debt will hover in the A$850 million to A$860 million range until fiscal 2025.

The outlook is stable.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.