Fitch upgrades Umgeni Water’s national ratings
Ratings agency Fitch has upgraded State-owned water utility Umgeni Water's national long-term and senior unsecured ratings to AA+(zaf) from AA(zaf), noting that the upgrade reflected a recalibration of the higher end of the South African National Rating scale.
“The ratings, which are notched down one level from the sovereign's rating, continue to reflect strong linkages between the company and the State, including the strategic importance of South Africa's water sector, and reflect a high level of implied support from the national government,” the agency stated.
It further pointed out that, although Umgeni has initiated a R4.4-billion capital expenditure programme, to be completed over the next five years, to increase capacity and replace ageing infrastructure, the agency was confident that Umgeni’s ample cash flows, cash balances and expected grants would limit the need to issue further debt within the company's R3-billion domestic medium-term note programme.
“Despite the expected deterioration in margins and credit ratios, the company's credit profile remains supported by low business risk,” stated Fitch.
Meanwhile, the ratings agency also affirmed Umgeni’s national short-term rating at F1+(zaf).
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation