Upgraded corporate credit rating for Nobina after refinancing
Following the successfully completed refinancing and debt-to-equity swap of Nobina’s senior notes, the rating agencies Standard & Poors’ and Moody’s have upgraded the long-term corporate credit ratings on Nobina to B and Caa1 respectively, with stable outlook.
Standard & Poors’ raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Nobina AB and Nobina Europe Holding AB (collectively “Nobina”) from SD to B and Moody’s upgraded Nobina from Caa3 to Caa1.
Both rating agencies state that the outlooks are stable, reflecting expectations that Nobina’s profitability levels will remain stable with potential to improve and that the free cash flow will be positive.
The upgrades follow Nobina's announcement of a refinancing solution for the company’s senior notes of EUR 85 million that resulted in a debt reduction of approximately SEK 180 million through a swap of debt into shares in Nobina AB. This provided the Nobina Group with an improved capital structure and higher solidity. The remainder, a bond loan of approximately SEK 550 million, has been issued as a new SEK-denominated five-year bond to be listed on the Nasdaq OMX.
“The rating upgrades were expected following the successful completion of our refinancing process, nevertheless welcome. Nobina reported a record high EBIT for the first half of 2012/2013, and has renewed a substantial part of the contract portfolio. This represents good prerequisites for continuing to increase Nobina’s growth and profitability and to actively participate in the development of the industry”, says Per Skärgård, CFO of Nobina.
For more information, please contact:
Ingrid Håkanson, IR-manager Nobina AB,
telephone +46 8 410 650 51, ingrid.hakanson@nobina.com
The Nobina Group is the largest bus passenger transport company in the Nordic region. The operations include contractual regional traffic in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland as well as independently operated interregional traffic through Swebus. The Nobina group has annual sales close to SEK 7 billion, operates 3,500 buses and, with more than 260 million passenger journeys per year, is one of the major passenger transport companies in northern Europe. For more information, please visit www.nobina.com
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