Citycon’s recent credit positive actions acknowledged in S&P Global Rating’s latest assessment

CITYCON OYJ   Investor News   27 November 2024 at 13:40 hrs

Citycon acknowledges recent updates from the credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings (S&P) and the unsolicited agency of Moody’s.  

Citycon has an investment-grade credit rating (BBB-) from S&P, with whom Citycon has an open dialogue. Citycon continues to provide accurate and comprehensive information necessary for their analyses, including details of its management strategy, financial models, and policies, in full alignment with the company’s disclosure policy.

S&P’s latest assessment published on November 19, 2024 reaffirmed Citycon’s investment-grade rating (BBB-/Negative/A-3) and highlighted several credit-positive developments. These include a 5.2% year-to-date increase in like-for-like net rental income, stable retail occupancy of 95.1%, and tenant sales surpassing pre-pandemic levels. S&P also recognized Citycon’s proactive measures to deleverage, such as the suspension of dividend payments for 2025, and the advanced divestment pipeline, including the recently announced divestment of Kristiine keskus shopping center in Estonia reaching EUR 334 million in divestments year to date. Citycon is targeting EUR 380 million divestments by year-end 2024 and EUR 950 million by year-end 2025.

S&P also noted that Citycon’s Board aims to accelerate delivery on the deleveraging target it has set out with a new management team in place. Scott Ball has been appointed Interim CEO, with Oleg Zaslavsky set to take over in spring 2025, and Eero Sihvonen, former Citycon CFO with a tenure of over 16 years at the company, as a new CFO.

Meanwhile, despite not having access to the financial information typically provided to credit agencies with a contractual rating, Moody’s issued its own unsolicited report on November 27, 2024.  Citycon, which dropped the rating agency on June 5, 2023 noted that given the fact that Moody’s does not have sufficient access to the company’s financial information they are not in a position to accurately opine in regards to the company.

“With a strong commitment to further strengthen Citycon’s balance sheet, robust liquidity of EUR 500 million in committed credit lines and reserves, combined with strong operational metrics—including 95% retail occupancy and tenant sales surpassing pre-pandemic levels—Citycon is well-positioned to maximize returns from our core assets and deliver long-term value for all of our stakeholders”, stated Eero Sihvonen, Chief Financial Officer of Citycon.

For further information, please contact:  

Eero Sihvonen
CFO and member of the Board of Directors

Media contact request through:
Pia Grahn
Communications Director
Tel. +46 73 037 1722
pia.grahn@citycon.com

Investor contact requests through:
Anni Torkko
Investor Relations Manager
Tel. +358 45 358 0570
anni.torkko@citycon.com

Citycon is a leading owner, manager and developer of mixed-use real estate featuring modern, necessity-based retail with residential, office and municipal service spaces that enhance the communities in which they operate. Citycon is committed to sustainable property management in the Nordic region with assets that total approximately EUR 4.0 billion. Our centres are located in urban hubs in the heart of vibrant communities with direct connections to public transport and anchored by grocery, healthcare and other services that cater to the everyday needs of customers.

Citycon has an investment-grade credit rating from Standard & Poor's (BBB-). Citycon Oyj’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

www.citycon.com