alexnr75 schreef op 16 juni 2017 18:57:
@ Biobert
Waar lees jij dat het bericht voor Ahold negatief is? De toelichting is positief. Of komt het bij jou door het - streepje?
London, 16 June 2017 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") assigned a Prime-2 short-term issuer rating to Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (Ahold Delhaize). Ahold Delhaize's existing ratings and outlook remain unchanged.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The Prime-2 short-term issuer rating reflects Ahold Delhaize's strong liquidity profile supported by EUR2.8 billion of cash and cash equivalents of as of 02 April 2017, after deducting €1.1 billion related to cash pooling, and a EUR1.0 billion multi-currency syndicated credit facility maturing in 2022, of which €140 million are drawn. While this facility is committed and contains no material adverse effect language, it is subject to a financial covenant that requires the company to maintain a leverage ratio of less than 4x, in case the corporate ratings of Standard & Poor's and Moody's fall below BBB and Baa2, respectively.
Moody's does not see any meaningful refinancing risk in the coming years, as the most significant maturity of the next 24 months is the repayment of a EUR400 million bond due in October 2018. In 2017, free cash flow generation will suffice to finance shareholder remuneration, namely a EUR1.0 billion share buyback program and a EUR0.7 billion dividend.
RATIONALE FOR THE POSITIVE OUTLOOK
The positive outlook reflects Moody's view that Ahold Delhaize's financial profile is strong for the rating category. It also reflects that a successful integration of the two predecessors' operations, alongside the realization over three years of the targeted EUR500 million run-rate merger synergies, could further enhance the company's key credit metrics over the next 12-18 months.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN
Moody's could upgrade Ahold Delhaize's long-term rating if it sustains a Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA below 3.25x and a retained cash flow/net debt above 25%. This would require that shareholder remuneration remains stable and that the company does not make sizable debt-financed acquisition.
Conversely, Moody's could downgrade Ahold Delhaize if its Moody's-adjusted leverage rises above 3.75x or its retained cash flow/net debt falls below 20%.